Towns That Should be Listed as Idaho's Best

I’ve visited all but two on this list. Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry are both on this coming summer’s bucket list. Not so much in winter. You reach a point during life where you enjoy driving and sightseeing from the roads, but it’s easier on a warm and sunny day. The panhandle is a little snowy at the moment. Speaking of snow, many of the places on the list compiled by WorldAtlas are popular tourist towns. Ketchum, McCall, and Driggs are all near ski slopes. Wallace too, but I don’t believe the slopes in nearby Kellogg are as well-known as counterparts.

The list could contain 50 names and even more, but publishers realize readers have limited time. A couple I would mention are Hagerman and Albion. They may not offer the usual tourist amenities, but if you’re looking for a quiet town where you can soak up the atmosphere, Idaho has several of those places that don’t get nearly the traffic. I’m not sure some of these places crave constant visitors, which may be why so many of them are great places to live.

My hometown has a lake that attracts summer visitors, but most come for weekend picnics from a range of 25 miles. On summer nights as a boy, I would watch the sunset from the front porch with my dad. With a symphony of crickets preparing us for bed. You may not know it when you’re 10 years old, but that’s living. Tens of thousands of Idahoans have the same experience, and most people I meet wouldn’t have it any other way.