9 Offbeat Idaho Towns To Visit In 2026

In 2004, the mayor of Wallace declared his town the "Center of the Universe" and dared anyone to prove him wrong. That is the kind of place Idaho is full of. Blackfoot serves potato ice cream at its potato museum, Yellow Pine throws a summer festival built entirely around the harmonica, and a drilling crew in Soda Springs accidentally created a geyser that now shoots carbonated water 70 feet into the air on a timer. Add 400-foot sand dunes outside Saint Anthony and the ghost stories at Lava Hot Springs, and you have a state that rewards going off the beaten path. Here are nine of its most offbeat towns to explore this year.

Wallace

Many people are proud of where they live, but Wallace may be the only town to officially declare itself the "Center of the Universe." In 2004, the mayor made this bold proclamation because nobody could prove otherwise. Visitors should stop by the famous Center of the Universe manhole cover, set at the corner of Bank and Sixth Streets in downtown Wallace. If you're visiting in September, check out the annual Center of the Universe Re-Dedication & Raffle, which celebrates the proclamation with a parade, karaoke, and a rededication ceremony. Wallace is also the only place in the United States with an official Prime Minister of Hospitality and Goodwill.

Almost every building in downtown Wallace is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which helped residents successfully prevent Interstate 90 from being built through the town. Things to do in Wallace include touring the Oasis Bordello Museum, which looks exactly as it did when it closed in 1988. You can also explore a real silver mine with the Sierra Silver Mine Tour. The green trolley is easy to spot around town.

Arco

Back in the 1950s, Arco became the first town in the world to have all its electricity powered by nuclear energy, for an hour, at least. The town's City Hall features a sign commemorating this moment, making for a solid (if slightly nerdy) photo opportunity. Anyone interested in nuclear power can take a 20-minute drive to visit Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I), a decommissioned reactor, museum, and National Historic Landmark. Visitors can take a free tour to learn about nuclear energy, see four reactors, and explore interactive exhibits.

Another unique attraction in Arco is Number Hill, where generations of graduating students have painted their class years onto the hillside. You can also drive just 20 minutes from town to see a huge alien landscape called Craters of the Moon. Here, you can camp, hike, and hide in the otherworldly wilderness.

Blackfoot

Did you know that the Potato Capital of the World is in Idaho? Blackfoot has fully embraced the crop, and nowhere is that more evident than at the Idaho Potato Museum. Here, visitors can pose with a giant potato, learn about the history of the spud, ride a virtual potato harvester, watch a film about the journey of a potato from the farm to morphing into McDonald's French Fries, browse ancient potato artifacts, and even buy potato soap as a souvenir.

If you're not potatoed out at this point, head to the museum's Potato Station Cafe and munch on baked potatoes and potato ice cream before exploring the rest of the town. If you find yourself in Blackfoot in early September, don't miss the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which features carnival rides, livestock shows, magic tricks, bubble-blowing performances, mime artists, and tractor competitions.

Soda Springs

Located along the Oregon Trail, the Soda Springs area was originally known as Tosoiba, meaning "the land of sparkling waters." Soda Springs and the surrounding area contain naturally carbonated pools formed long ago by volcanic activity. And while many of the original pools are now covered, visitors can still sample the naturally fizzy water at Hooper Springs Park.

Soda Springs is also home to the world's only captive geyser. Accidentally discovered during drilling in the 1930s, the geyser puts on an hourly show, shooting naturally carbonated water up to 70 feet into the air. A mechanical timer controls these eruptions, making it the only geyser of its kind in the world. Geyser Park has a visitor center, boardwalks, and picnic tables if you want to stick around. Soda Springs also has a historic downtown and several notable landmarks, including the Wagon Box Grave.

Saint Anthony

Idaho isn't usually associated with sand dunes, but you'll find 10,000 acres of just that right outside Saint Anthony. Some of these towering dunes rise 400 feet, creating a landscape that looks more like the Sahara Desert than southeastern Idaho. The ground is covered with tiny grains of white quartz, which arrived in the area during the last ice age when shrinking lakes exposed fine sand that winds carried across the Snake River Plain.

Sandboarding is a popular activity here, while ATV riders come to explore one of the largest inland dune systems in North America. Thanks to the area's dark skies, visitors may even catch a glimpse of the Milky Way on clear autumn and winter nights.

Stanley

Some people hide from the cold, but the residents of Stanley celebrate it. One of the coldest towns in the lower 48 states, Stanley embraces its icy reality by hosting Stanley Winterfest each year. The festival's tagline is "Let's Get Weird," and it certainly delivers. Festival goers can play Human Ice Tug, compete in a pizza-eating contest, and show off their style in the "ugly or retro" ski outfit competition.

Located at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains within the 756,000-acre Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Stanley is a small mountain town of fewer than 100 year-round residents with an offbeat vibe. The lack of light pollution makes it an excellent place for stargazing, while nearby hot springs offer an escape from the cold. There are also plenty of opportunities for hiking, horse riding, and mountain climbing in the surrounding wilderness.

Yellow Pine

Every summer, thousands of people descend on the tiny mountain village of Yellow Pine to attend one of the country's more unusual festivals. The Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival celebrates all things harmonica, with lessons, live music across three stages (51% of which involves a harmonica), and the 4-mile (6.5 km) Great Harmonica Run or Walk.

Reaching Yellow Pine is part of the adventure, requiring a drive deep into Idaho's backcountry. Visitors can sip coffee with the locals, soak up the town's remote charm, or travel 20 miles to explore the mountain peaks and hot springs.

Murray

Visiting Murray is like stepping into a time capsule and traveling back to Idaho's 1890s mining-boom era. The Sprag Pole Inn and Museum is part restaurant and bar, part quirky museum, and part local history stop, with an eclectic collection of artifacts from around the world, including hundreds of wooden-carved animals, cigarette cases, and prosthetic limbs. The museum's 12 exhibits recreate scenes from everyday life in old Murray, including a barbershop, parlor, kitchen, doctor's office, and Molly B'Damn's bedroom. They also have an impressive rock and mineral collection, and this museum is also home to the world's longest wooden chain.

A scattering of historic buildings, many of which look much the same as they did during Murray's heyday, line the streets of this living ghost town. Surrounded by the Coeur d'Alene National Forest, Murray offers visitors a rare chance to experience a slice of Idaho's frontier past.

Lava Hot Springs

Lava Hot Springs is a popular resort town once known to Native American tribes as the Land of Healing Water. The town is home to a multitude of naturally heated mineral pools, and, unusually, the water lacks the distinctive sulfur smell often associated with hot springs.

Lava Hot Springs is also home to the Lava Hot Springs Inn, which many consider to be the most haunted hotel in Idaho. The hotel's reputation even earned it a feature on Ghost Adventures. The mineral water flowing into the former Lava Hot Springs Hospital was used to help treat soldiers, elderly residents, and patients with a variety of ailments until the 1980s. According to local legend, some former patients never left. Room 13 is said to be haunted by the ghost of a woman named Martha. Guests have also reported seeing a headless figure and feeling as though something is standing right behind them, only for it to disappear when they turn around.

Offbeat Idaho Towns To See

The living ghost town of Murray hands you prosthetic limbs and frontier history, while Lava Hot Springs offers a soak alongside its resident ghosts. You could don your most ridiculous ski suit and get weird at the Stanley Winterfest, or try sandboarding in the dunes of Saint Anthony. This state is rich in unique towns with memorable attractions, and it is proof that a place doesn't have to be big to be worth visiting.