Whether you’re new to Blaine County or a longtime local, perhaps you’ve never quite grasped what’s in or out of our remote and meandering boundaries, encompassing 2,661 square miles, even though you’ve hiked, camped, or explored within them. Oh, the riches inside the little red line. If your daily grind doesn’t require extensive knowledge of a Blaine County map, this primer on 5B borders might be of interest.
As the crow flies, a bird’s-eye view of that county line begins at the most northern boundary where, running east to west, it intersects Highway 75 about a mile north of the Pettit Lake turnoff. About eight miles southwesterly along the Sawtooth Range, the county includes popular lakes Pettit and Alturas, the more remote Twin Lakes and Alice Lake, and El Capitan and McDonald peaks.
Veering south/southeast over the crest of the Soldier Mountains, Vienna, Webfoot and Solace mines at the end of Smiley Creek Road are inside, as well as the headwaters of the Salmon River, according to the map’s blue river line. About a mile south of Titus Peak, we continue in the same direction five miles across the top of the Smoky Mountains to pass by Prairie Lakes, and Big Lost and Baker Lakes. Farther south, our boundary crosses Warm Springs Road 20 miles west of Ketchum, and continues southeast, passing the Deer Creek drainage about 12 miles west of Highway 75.
Ten more miles south, we intersect Camp Creek Road, which is a long way out Croy Creek Road west of Hailey. We cross Highway 20 by less than a mile, then head due east, following Camas Creek as it drops into Magic Reservoir. Near Hot Springs Landing, the county line shoots straight south, catching all but a few extensions of Magic Reservoir.
Just south of Magic, it’s straight east for 48 miles through the desert. We cross Highway 75, Picabo Desert Road, Highway 26/93 south of Carey, Kimama Desert Road and the Laidlaw Park area, soaring over grazing land and then broken lava beds of Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve. It’s hot out here this time of year.
From here the county line drops south 36 miles, forming a panhandle averaging 12 miles wide, bringing us to the farthest point south in Blaine County, the edge of Lake Walcott and the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, which the beautiful Snake River runs through.
If you’ve never seen the shape of our county, stop right now and do a Google image search. You’ll also see just how far south Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve extends. Blaine County boundaries are literally just a couple miles north of I-86 and the town of Raft River. For 12 miles our border runs along Lake Walcott and the Snake River before heading back north.
Back at the top of the panhandle, Blaine County juts east, then north, then west, creating a 12-mile square covered by rolling lava beds and a spider web of dirt roads, one of which is the Minidoka to Arco Road.
As the line crosses Highway 26, we meander northwest along the crest of the Pioneer Mountains, and whistle right over the tip of Standhope Peak, at 11,700 feet. Summiting Hyndman at 12,078 feet, you could well be straddling Custer and Blaine counties before you drop down into the Devil’s Bedstead at 11,100 feet.
Passing over the Salmon-Challis National Forest, we cruise through the Boulder peaks, claiming Boulder City as our own. Two miles north of Galena’s switchback curves, the county line heads due west six miles, closing in on the Beaver Creek Store and including the Smiley Creek landing strip. Straight north for four and a half miles, then turn west and we’re back, just north of the Pettit Lake turnoff.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. Fortunately, Smiley Creek Lodge is south a few miles. That can mean only one thing—the best chocolate malt inside Blaine County! Get out there, explore, and enjoy!
Lori Williams is a Ketchum resident.
