Ultimate Family Weekend in Twin Falls (Part II)

The heat of summer was over, and now it was finally fall! But fall also means that winter is coming…so we grabbed the kids for a weekend road trip from Boise to Twin Falls for a few days of fun and field trips. Check out part I, the first half of our three-day trip, here. We had hiked in City of Rocks National Reserve and toured the Shoshone Ice Cave. Now we drove about an additional hour for an unforgettable afternoon at Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, ID.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Craters of the Moon is essentially a gigantic lava field from years past. We honestly had no idea what to expect from Craters of the Moon. Regrettably, their caves and North Crater Flow Trail are closed for the time being. Added to that, the day was quite chilly & blustery. Still, however, Craters provided such a unique and fun experience for us that we did not leave disappointed.

The Seven-Mile Loop Road

Most families visiting Craters of the Moon stick to the convenient, seven-mile driving loop around the park and stop at the main attractions along the way. We were no exception. After a brief stop at the visitors center, we headed off on our self-tour.

Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail

Our first stop on the seven-mile driving loop was a short loop hike (about half a mile) called Devil’s Orchard. This easy walk would be doable for most families, even with young children. The stark, other-worldly topography is stunning all throughout the loop.

We found the desolate landscape at Craters of the Moon to be its own kind of beauty. Colorful, almost neon-green lichen would grow in patches on the rocks. In some places, an otherwise brown landscape would be dotted with patches of white dwarf buckwheat.

Inferno Cone

The stroll through Devil’s Orchard turned out to be a warm-up for our next, much more strenuous feat: climbing straight up a cinder cone volcano called Inferno Cone.

The first order of business at the top was to catch our breath (speaking for myself at least!). Then we were on to exploring the beautiful, panoramic view from atop Inferno Cone.

Spatter Cones

After getting our day’s allotment of exercise in at Inferno Cone, we hopped back in the car. We stopped next at the Spatter Cones, geologically rare large hills consisting of “spattered” lava fragments. These unique formations turned out to be my sons’ favorite feature of the park.

Knowing we didn’t have the time or the energy left for the four-mile round-trip hike to Big Craters, we chose to only go partway for some stunning views.

Being that the Caves Trail is currently closed, our short hike near the Spatter Cones was the last activity we did. However, we are already planning on a follow-up visit to Craters of the Moon. We’ll hit the caves and tackle some longer hikes. But for now, we headed back to our hotel to rest up for our final day of our long weekend trip to Twin Falls.

Minidoka National Historic Site

The next day, our final one near Twin Falls, we switched gears completely. Instead of gaping at geological wonders or hiking some unique trails, we paused to examine an unfortunate part of American history. The National Historic Site of Minidoka marks the spot of one of many Japanese internment camps in operation for three years during World War II. Today the spot, which includes a few original buildings, is part of the National Park Service.

We believe in showing our kids the good, the bad, and the downright ugly with regards to our nation’s history. And Minidoka, where over 9,000 Americans of Japanese descent were imprisoned from 1942 to 1945 is one of those must-visit sites to tour with your kids.

Minidoka is free to visit and well laid-out. We visited, though, on an extremely windy day, making it difficult to head out on all the trails around the buildings. The landscape around Minidoka is brown and barren. The land’s bleakness makes it easy to imagine the despair the imprisoned Japanese Americans must have felt. Minidoka is a stark location with very little real beauty surrounding it. It is sobering to imagine the thousands of individuals and families stuck there out of the fear and the stigma of that time.

Guard Towers

Coming from Twin Falls, upon arriving at Minidoka, you will first pull up to this guard tower entrance area.

In addition to the guard tower, there are a few other displays on both sides of the road before you make your way to the visitor center. Here is a large plaque honoring the Japanese Americans that served in WWII.

Minidoka Visitor Center

For those that may have visited Minidoka in the past (like Damien), the site now has a beautiful new visitor center. The center includes a movie, interactive exhibits, a bookstore, and of course, a place to stamp your national park book.

We skipped the movie, at around thirty minutes, as we felt it would be a little long for our kids. However, we spent quite awhile interacting with the exhibits. There was even a place to record your own thoughts on what happened here, which Damien did.

Like I mentioned before, the day we toured Minidoka was exceptionally windy. Like practically-blow-you-sideways windy. The ranger at the center indicated the wind we were experiencing that day was not uncommon. The outdoor area of Minidoka offers over a mile and a half of trails, with informational plaques along the way and some original buildings. However, it was difficult for us to experience too much of it that day due to the wind.

We all left Minidoka in a sober mood. I feel grateful, however, to be able to tour important places like this with my kids and not have to shy away from the more undesirable parts of history.

Around the Minidoka area, we noticed farmers harvesting large crops of what we first assumed to be potatoes. However, we saw one up close and realized instead it was a sugar beet:

Having never seen a sugar beet up close before, this was a nice little bonus to close out our time in Twin Falls before beginning the drive home.

On our two-hour drive back to Boise, we had one more fun stop to make.

Malad Gorge State Park

Just 15-20 minutes outside of Twin Falls, on the way back to Boise, lies the small but beautiful Malad Gorge State Park. It was the perfect final stop for our whirlwind long weekend in Twin Falls.

Malad Gorge is easy to miss and zip on past in a blink. However, it’s a mistake to do so! This stunning gorge is incredibly easy to access being right off the interstate. It’s perfect for either a quick stop like we did or a longer visit complete with a picnic.

The mesmerizing beauty of Malad Gorge seemed a very fitting end to our fun and educational family weekend in Twin Falls.

Visit the Twin Falls Area

And so, we were home again a bit too soon. If you’ve never been, Twin Falls is an amazing big town/small city in Idaho that is packed with things to do with your kids. Although we were happy to fit in what we did in our three short days, plus our earlier Shoshone Falls trip, we know there’s still more to do. And that only means we’ll need a return trip someday soon.

If you’ve been to Twin Falls, share below what your favorite thing is in that area. And please share this post!