Eden Site

Hikes: D.
Total Distance, D: 2 miles.
Difficulty: Levels I.
Season: March 1-November 15.
USGS Map: Eden.
BLM 100K Map: Twin Falls.
Dirt Road Miles: None.
PLSS Location: Section 25, T9S R19E.

Introduction: The Bonneville Flood left us a lot of good hiking spots in scablands terrain: areas where flood waters stripped away not just soil but also rock, and then altered and deposited the rock in new places. This is one of the author's favorite places, which he learned about from a geologic publication. The BLM made a terrible decision in the late 1980's when they permitted a dump to be established in a corner of this site. The good hike avoids the dump.

The Hike: Start at the gate, and walk perhaps 100 yards north on the road to a high point where a dirt road bears right. Take that road to the east, and you'll soon start to see the potholes area. This is it: climb to the far side, where you can overlook Nature's work in this spot (D).
  What you'll see is a cliff area from which jagged-edged rocks were plucked by the Flood. These rocks then swirled about in the potholes until they became rounded; smaller ones were eventually whisked away by the Flood, but the larger ones were deposited at your feet; and the cliffs remain as "dry cataracts".
  The author has continued to the east to see a few additional cataracts, and you, too, may do so, but these are the best. He has always returned to his car by a more northerly route than earlier taken.

Access: Drive to the intersection at the center of Eden, Idaho, on ID-25, northeast of Twin Falls. From the intersection drive due east for 1 mile, to a place where the road heads 90 degrees to the right. There should be a gate here; park and hike.