In 1938, the WPA Guide to Idaho described the state’s section of US-93 as “miles of beautiful mountains, ranging from soft flanks voluptuously mounded to the lean and glittering majesty of toothed backbones.” Though the official US-93 route was redirected around the mountains, not much else has changed since then: The old road is still in place, and still gives an unmatched tour of the best of what Idaho has to offer.

  Entering the state through a historic pass in the beautiful Bitterroot Mountains, the route drops down to follow the mighty Salmon River to its headwaters over 100 miles away near the frontier resort of Stanley, high up in the Sawtooth Mountains. South of the Sawtooths, the route plunges into the plush resort community of Sun Valley, then races across the Snake River plain through Twin Falls to the Nevada border.