Bruneau Dunes State Park offers nature lovers a fun-filled weekend far from the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by wide open skies, fishing lakes, desert vistas and the largest sand dunes to be found in the United States. The main emphasis at the park is on getting back to nature, camping and having fun climbing the sand dunes, the largest of which rises 470 feet above the desert floor.

A good idea is to start your visit at the Visitors Center where you can get trail maps and rent a sand board. There are several trails in the park for hiking, bird watching and horse riding, but most of the fun takes place on the dunes - you can climb to the top for great views (and good exercise!) and then enjoy hurtling down the sides on a sand board.

You can hike around the small lakes, enjoy a lake-side picnic or try your luck fishing for bluegill. There is also a ramp for boating – electric motor boats only. Bruneau Dunes State Park has an observatory on-site which you can visit on weekend nights to learn all about the stars, and do some serious star-gazing through their powerful telescopes. Other activities include kite-flying and going on guided educational walks. In winter you can enjoy downhill skiing and sledding on the dunes, and the campsite is open all year round.

Boise, Idaho Idaho Falls Coeur d'Alene Pocatello Salmon Sandpoint, Idaho Mountain Home Meridian Nampa Ketchum Sun Valley McCall Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve Idaho Destinations: Shoshone Falls Yellowstone National Park Bruneau Dunes State Park Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area Thousand Springs State Park Sawtooth National Recreation Area Mesa Falls Ponderosa State Park Sawtooth Wilderness Lewiston St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Idaho Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area

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