Idaho Road Trip Itinerary Idea
Above is the exact road trip my family just took … we took this road trip in the first week of August and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! Here is what we did in case you want to do it too … and I highly recommend!
DAY 1 - Meridian to Donnelly / McCall Idaho
Our first leg of the trip was leaving Meridian and driving to our beautiful airbnb in Tamarack / Donnelly area … the house we stayed in is called Clearwater Chalet and it’s a dream home!! We checked in and then went down to the lake … specifically Boulder Creek Beach on Lake Cascade … for dinner that night we drove the 25 minutes to McCall to check out the new Spitfire in McCall … which is dreamy!!! Tacos with a view of the lake, yes please!!
After dinner we came back to Tamarack and enjoyed the vacation home … walked around Tamarack Resort a bit … made s’mores in the fire pit at Clearwater Chalet and then went to bed. A few images from this leg of the trip are below …. you can also click on any of the bold links above to see more from each place.
DAY 2 - Donnelly / McCall to Deary, Idaho (with a quick stop in Cottonwood)
As you can see from the map above, we drove straight up north through Idaho … almost up to Canada! It was nice to break it up with stops to sleep in between … when we left Clearwater Chalet in Donnelly to go to Deary for our next sleep spot, we did stop in Cottonwood to see the darling Dog Bark Park Inn which is such a piece of history here in Idaho. In my blog post (linked) I share the story about the creator of the giant dog shaped airbnb (which closed to visitors in December 2024) … it was such a special visit for sure and I highly recommend stopping by if you find yourself near Cottonwood!
After our stop in Cottonwood, we continued on to Deary to check in to our house for the night: Wolf Meadows … which is an incredible home just outside of Deary … and has the most beautiful views!!! Some photos from day 2 of our trip are below:
DAY 3 - Deary, Idaho up to Silverwood Theme Park in Athol
Silverwood Theme Park is a 2 hour drive from Wolf Meadows vacation house … so we decided to get up early and drive up through Coeur d’Alene (grabbing coffee there) and take the kids to the waterpark and rides to spend the day. We had a blast!! It was a nice little release of energy after being in the car for a few days … after our time at the park, we drove the 2 hours back to Deary for our second night sleeping at Wolf Meadows. Some photos from our time at Silverwood are below:
DAY 4 - Deary, Idaho down to Meridian with a stop for lunch in McCall
It was bittersweet to check out of Wolf Meadows to go home … the house is so peaceful and comfortable … we definitely plan to come back … when we left we stopped in the darling downtown area of Deary to grab breakfast at The Pie Safe Bakery and Kitchen … so delicious!!! Then we started the drive down … we did stop in McCall for lunch on the lake at one of our favorite places: The Cutwater on Payette … our daughter swam in the lake while we waited for our food, we stretched our legs, grabbed a bite … took in the gorgeous view in McCall … and then headed home.
This trip was so fun and I loved how the long drives were broken up … we saw so much of Idaho and the beauty in this state … ate some delicious food, took in some history in Cottonwood … I love road trips with my family and this one was truly special.
