After my husband and I spent two full weeks on a road trip around the state of Idaho in search of waterfalls, I couldn’t wait to sit and write about this experience. Beginning in southern Idaho, we were surrounded by desert landscapes and sunny, warm July afternoons, then we began heading north through the Sawtooth’s and along the Salmon River, but as we reached Northern Idaho, the scenery changed drastically as we were surrounded by the tallest of trees, rivers and creeks along every road, cooler afternoons with one or two light summer rains passing through. Some of the most beautiful waterfalls of the trip were found hidden away in these tall, dense, forests, including Copper Falls, Snow Creek Falls, Grouse Creek Falls, and Elk Creek Waterfall.
Get ready to load up the car and make a trip through Northern Idaho, these beautiful falls are all must-see destinations!
- Local Recommendations
- The nearest town for your major amenities would be Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho. If you are in an RV, or looking for more hotel or Airbnb recommendations, Bonner’s Ferry is the place to base yourself in to explore most of these northern Idaho waterfalls.
- After the first three waterfalls (Copper Falls, Snow Creek, and Grouse Creek,), we stayed in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to begin our trip down south to visit Elk Creek Falls. The drive for CDA to Elk Creek Falls was about 2.5-3 hours. We camped after Elk Creek Falls on national forest land since it is located a bit far from any town.
Copper Falls
Copper Falls was the furthest north waterfall we visited, and by furthest north I mean to say we were only about 1 mile south of the Canadian border! Copper Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in Idaho, staring at the water as it cascades down rugged rock formations put into perspective how the water portrays a coppery-hued tone which strikes stunningly against the lush forest background. But of course, this is just painting the summer scene to visualize, as we read that this waterfall freezes in the winter months, offering ice climbers a chance to experience these beautiful falls in an entirely new way.
- Waterfall Facts
- Copper Falls is one of Idaho’s tallest waterfalls, already sitting at an elevation of 3,500 feet, it also cascades down a 150 foot cliff into a sparkling pool below.
- This waterfall isn’t only one of Idaho’s tallest waterfalls, but also sits at one of the highest elevations- 3,500 feet!
- Copper Falls plays a crucial role in the ecosystem of the surrounding microhabitat, offering a variety of fauna, insects, small mammals and a variety of birds a place to thrive (with the occasional deer, elk or moose passing through as well).
- Hiking Details
- This trail is rated as easy, it is just a 1 mile roundtrip hike from the parking area with 150 feet of elevation change.
- Factoring in the time we admired the falls, this hike took us about 1 hour to complete.
- Location & Travel Information
- The nearest town is Good Grief, Idaho, which is a beautiful but a fairly small town for amenities. We were able to grab some gas here before heading to the trailhead.
- From Bonner’s Ferry, the drive to Copper Falls was roughly 35-40 minutes.
Snow Creek Falls
Heading an hour south from Copper Falls, we discovered the stunning Snow Creek Falls right outside of the lovely town of Bonner’s Ferry. Snow Creek Falls is located in the beautiful Selkirk Mountain Range which begins in Northern Idaho and extends into British Columbia. There is another waterfall on this 1.7 mile round-trip hike, but the upper Snow Creek Falls is definitely known to be the favorite for most hikers with it’s vast amount of water and surrounding scenery. With the green mosses and surrounding flora, provided by a consistent refreshing mist, we sat and relaxed at these falls for hours amid a hot summer day.
- Waterfall Facts
- Bridal Veil Falls is the largest of the two falls, it cascades around 30 feet.
- Lower Falls has several cascades and falls about 20 feet.
- Best to see during spring run off
- Hiking Details
- 1.7 mile roundtrip hike, 288 feet elevation change
- Our moving time was around 35 minutes, but with stops and having lunch our total time was just over 1 hour.
- Location & Travel Information
- Trailhead- 48.668575, -116.420849
- From Bonner’s Ferry, the drive to Snow Creek Falls trailhead was a quick 10 minutes.
Grouse Creek Falls
Grouse Creek Falls is tied for the #1 spot on our entire road trip through the state of Idaho. To put that into perspective, we saw roughly 10 waterfalls in 2 weeks, so the top favorites had a decent amount of competition. With that said, I couldn’t recommend a stop at Grouse Creek enough. The waterfall cascades into a decently deep swimming hole, large enough to accommodate large families, or multiple groups. This trail is also dog-friendly, so our pup Sage was able to swim with us and enjoy a nice refreshing dip on this hot summer afternoon as well. The road to get here was easy to miss since we didn’t come across any signage, so try to pay attention to the maps on your way (and refer to travel information below).
- Waterfall Facts
- Several sea-green falls cascade around 15-20 feet down bedrock into a swimming hole beneath.
- Fun Fact! The falls are located within a grotto, so swimming in this specific water could have health benefits.
- Hiking Details
- 1-mile round trip, 54 feet of elevation gain. An easy, relatively flat hike.
- Our moving time was 34 minutes, and total trip time was close to 2 hours since we swam and enjoyed sunbathing on the large rocks and beach near the falls.
- Location & Travel Information
- 48.458216, -116.346977 is the geocoordinates for the turn to the trailhead, turn at this point into the parking lot and the trailhead is well-marked when you reach the parking lot. We accidentally drove passed this turn off multiple times since the sign was tough to see.
- From Bonner’s Ferry, the drive to Grouse Creek Falls trailhead was 45-50 minutes.
Elk Creek Falls
Elk Creek Falls is Idaho’s tallest waterfall! With its multiple viewpoints (upper, middle, and lower falls), this waterfall is tied for first place in my book right alongside Grouse Creek. Elk Creek Falls was a mesmerizing destination, filled with a series of cascading waterfalls through a large, flourishing canyon in the middle of the mountains. We visited during golden hour, about an hour before the sunset, and the way the light reflected across the water and through the thousands of surrounding trees was one of the most mesmerizing scenes I’ve ever witnessed.
- Waterfall Facts
- Elk Creek Falls has a vertical drop of roughly 140 feet, and 3 different vantage points/falls to admire (Lower, Upper, and Middle).
- Elk Creek Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state of Idaho!
- Hiking Details
- 3 miles round trip, 600-700 feet of elevation change. We hiked to the lower falls viewpoint, and the middle falls viewpoint. The upper falls viewpoint would add another mile or so of hiking.
- Location & Travel Information
- 46.744630, -116.181430 is the location of the trailhead for Elk Creek Falls.
- The closest town with basic amenities such as hotel stays would be Moscow, Idaho, which is roughly 1 hour away from the trailhead. We opted to camp on forest service land nearby since we were in a camper for our waterfall road trip adventure. The closet RV park with great reviews and services was Whispering Pines RV park.
Experiencing these waterfalls throughout Northern Idaho will live on in my mind as a core memory, filled with adorable small towns, winding rivers and roads, and cascading waterfalls hidden down forest trails throughout the mountainous terrain of Idaho’s rugged panhandle. If you’re interested in going against TLC’s most famous words, I would highly recommend chasing these waterfalls for yourself!
Feature image credited to The Untold Narrative.
Meagan Bourne is a writer, photographer, drone pilot, and co-founder of The Untold Narrative. She can be found traveling the world one incredible project at a time. Follow her at @heymeagan on Instagram.
Published on July 22, 2025
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