Things to Do in Malad, Idaho

Malad sits on the floor of a high valley in southeast Idaho, 13 miles north of the Utah border on I-15. About 2200 people live in town. The valley runs forty miles north and south between the Bannock Range and the Sublett Range. Most drivers pass through on the way to Yellowstone or Boise and never know what they missed. Here is what to do if you take the exit.

In town

Oneida Pioneer Museum at 27 Bannock Street. Welsh settlers founded Malad in the 1860s and brought a tradition of choral singing, mining, and farming. The museum has photos, ranch tools, mining gear, and one of the best small-town local history collections in southeast Idaho. Free admission, open afternoons in the summer.

Welsh Heritage Festival every June. The town park fills with massed choirs, a brass band, and Welsh food. If you have any Welsh blood, you will hear your last name shouted across the parking lot. If you have none, you will leave wanting some.

Malad City Park. Cottonwoods, a stage, a playground, restrooms, plenty of grass. The race finish lives here in September.

Mountains and grassland

Pleasantview Hills. The range west of town. A patchwork of BLM roads that climb through pinyon and juniper to overlooks of the valley. Mountain bikes love it. Pronghorn antelope and mule deer are common. Cell service drops when you crest the ridge, so download your map first.

Curlew National Grassland. Forty minutes west on Highway 38. The only national grassland in Idaho. Sagebrush sea, sandhill cranes in spring, antelope all year. A quiet place to camp under the brightest stars in southeast Idaho.

City of Rocks National Reserve. Two hours west. Granite spires that climbers from Salt Lake and Boise treat as their home crag. The California Trail came through here and emigrants wrote their names on the rocks in axle grease. The names are still there.

Water

Crowther’s Reservoir. Right in town. Good shoreline fishing, family-friendly, easy to walk to.

Daniels Reservoir. Drive Daniels Road west out of town for about fifteen miles. The trophy water of the bunch. Rainbow and brook trout, mountain views, and a quiet shoreline. Bring a chair and a book if fishing is not your thing.

Devil’s Creek Reservoir. Take I-15 exit 17 and follow the canyon. Trout fishing, picnicking, and a scenic drive in.

Deep Creek Reservoir. Bigger water with rainbow trout and a healthy population of perch. A bit of a drive but worth it for the size of the fish.

Malad River. Runs through the valley. Brown trout in the deep pools, suckers and chubs in the shallows. Catch and release is the local custom.

Downata Hot Springs in Downey, Idaho. Twenty minutes north on I-15. Mineral pools, slides, and a quieter soak than the Utah side.

Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah. Thirty minutes south on I-15. Hot mineral pools, a cold plunge, a lazy river. The pools stay open year round. It is the closest hot soak to Malad and the locals know it.

Bear Lake. Ninety minutes east through Logan Canyon. The lake water is turquoise from the limestone bottom. Garden City on the south shore has raspberry shakes that people drive a hundred miles for. Swimming June through September, ice fishing in January.

Backroads

The valley has more dirt roads than paved ones. Most lead to a ranch or a trailhead. Drive slow, wave at the trucks, leave gates the way you found them. Cell service is poor outside town, so bring a paper map or a downloaded map.

September is the best month

The air cools, the cottonwoods turn yellow, the hay is in the barn, and the Malad Valley Marathon brings runners from across the West to a town that has been waiting to host them.