What man doesn’t dream of standing arm in arm with his wife and having her gently lean over and whisper in his ear, “Those are some nice rocks!” Well if you haven’t heard this for awhile then it’s time to load up the camping gear and head to The City of Rocks National Reserve in Almo, Idaho. That is exactly what we did the first week of April and we invited my sister Kelli and Brother-in-Law Brad along to do a little riding on our ATV’s. We had also heard that there may be wild teenage girls in the area, so just in case, we brought along our 15 year old son Jarin to scare them off since it works so well at home. Fortunately, there were very few people at all this time of the year and Jarin got to spend a whole weekend in a camp trailer with his parents and Aunt and Uncle, every boys dream!
Getting There
Located about 40 miles south of Burley, Idaho near the Utah border The City of Rocks is about a 2/1 hour drive from Salt Lake City. Drive north on I-15 to Snowville, Utah and then take Hwy 30 to Almo, Idaho. In the spring, this is a gorgeous drive as the fields and meadows turn bright green from the melting winter snows and spring rain showers.
What to Do
For such a small town, there are a lot of activities to experience in Almo. Not only is there the City of Rocks National Reserve but also nearby Castle Rocks State Park and Durfee Hot Springs. All of these can be explored by ATV, mountain bikes, horseback, or private vehicle straight out of the nearby campgrounds.
City of Rocks National Reserve
The City of Rocks was named by emigrant pioneers headed to California due to its “city of tall spires” and its “steeple rocks.” This location was a welcome site on the California Trail as its rich grass and mountain streams provided an excellent spot for the wagon trains to stop and graze their animals and rest from their long journey before heading out over the Nevada desert. As a stopping point on the trail, there is a lot of pioneer heritage here as the pioneers would paint their names on the surrounding rocks using axle grease and these names can still be seen on the rocks today.
Today the City of Rocks is world renowned for rock climbing and hiking and we really enjoyed climbing on the rocks and exploring the crags and formations among the rocks. Horseback riding is also a popular activity on the reserve and ATV’s, mountain bikes and automobiles can explore among the rocks but must remain on the established roads but don’t let that deter you, we thoroughly enjoyed riding the dirt roads between the various points of interest.
Castle Rocks State Park
Just down the road from the City of Rocks is Castle Rocks State Park. The State Park allows camping, hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking and has a stocked fishing pond as well. However, our favorite part was the 14-station archery range. This range has multiple stations with a different animal target at each station. The range had stakes at varying distances for different skill levels and was very challenging. Our group was really excited to get started, however I learned very quickly that Camp Kiesel Cub Scout Day Camp did little to prepare me for a course of this caliber shooting with high powered compound bows! In the end we spent most of our day looking for arrows that should have been in one of the targets instead of in a tree or creek bed several hundred feet from the target. By the end of the day though we began to put arrow on target as the inner Robin Hood came out in each of us. This was really a fun activity for the whole family!
Durfee Hot Springs
Durfee Hot Spring is a small, family owned commercial hot spring located in Almo. It has both a soaking pool and a larger swimming pool that we enjoyed for swimming and playing some hoop with the in-pool basketball hoop. It was fun to come here in the evening to soak after a day of riding and climbing on the rocks. Many locals, old and young, come to the hot springs to soak and but unfortunately Jarin scared away the few teenage girls in town so he was stuck getting getting destroyed by his dad in water basketball. We rode our ATV’s directly from the campground to Durfee Hot Springs and used the onsite changing rooms to slip into our suites. The hot springs flooded our bodies with warmth on these cool spring evenings and helped us relax before returning to a good night sleep at the campground.
Tracy General Store
Chances are that you will find the Tracy General Store on your own if you are in Almo as it is the only store in town, however, this is a store like no other. The General Store is exactly that…a general store. It serves all of the needs of the community. It houses the post office, the food store and the restaurant for the whole town. The interior is nostalgically decorated and takes you back 75 years when the General Store was the hub of the town. The owner was so nice to visit with and told us the history of the store and of Almo as we slurped down homemade milkshakes and enjoyed a meal made to order. The General Store is the only place in town that was open for eating while we were there but we thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and hospitality of this remnant of history.
Where to Eat
Outside of Tracy General Store there was nowhere else to eat in Almo while we were there so plan to bring your own meals. However, plan to eat at least one meal at the Tracy General Store. We all are responsible for keeping these remembrances of the past alive for future generations.
Where to Stay
Almo is based around the National Reserve and State Park so there are multiple campgrounds in the area. Both the National Reserve and State Park have campgrounds (including equestrian sites) and the state park has yurts and a bunk house for rent. No reservations were needed in early April, however, the campgrounds get more crowded later in the season. There is limited cell phone coverage in this area which means your teens will have to put down the phones and interact with nature and family. Of course our son didn’t believe us so we enjoyed watching him walk around the campground with his phone held high in the air searching for that ever elusive signal.
Conclusion
The City of Rocks was a fun family weekend trip full of history and outdoor fun close to the Wasatch Front. There is just something about exploring rocks that bring a family together. So pack up the trailer and get yourself to Almo, Idaho because this place rocks!
