Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls Grade
Twin Falls, ID
A Snake River waterfall that plunges farther than Niagara, thundering over a horseshoe of dark basalt on the edge of Twin Falls.
Shoshone Falls is often called the Niagara of the West, and the nickname is earned: the Snake River pours over a horseshoe rim of dark basalt and drops about two hundred and twelve feet, farther than Niagara itself. At full spring flow it is a genuine spectacle, a broad curtain of whitewater thundering into the canyon just outside Twin Falls.
The catch, and the honest part of the story, is the water. The Snake here is heavily used for irrigation and hydropower, so by late summer the falls can shrink to a thin veil. In spring, when snow is melting off the mountains upstream, the river is loud and full, and that is the moment to see it.
What Guests Love
- A waterfall that actually drops farther than Niagara, framed by a horseshoe of black canyon walls
- The overlook and park right at the lip of the Snake River canyon
- Spring, when snowmelt sends the whole river roaring over the rim
- Rainbows in the mist on a sunny morning
Worth Knowing
- The falls are strongest in spring; by late summer, irrigation and hydropower can slow the flow to a trickle, so time your visit for high water
- There is a fee to enter the city park at the falls during the busy season
- The overlooks are dramatic and the drop is real, so keep children close to the railings
- The access road is steep and winding down into the canyon
Details
Twin Falls, ID
Learn about Shoshone Falls
How the falls formed
The Snake River Plain is floored with layer upon layer of ancient lava, and the river has cut a deep canyon down through it. Shoshone Falls is where the river drops off a hard ledge of that basalt into the gorge below.
The canyon and its many waterfalls were dramatically shaped by the Bonneville Flood, a catastrophic Ice Age flood that tore down the Snake River corridor when a natural dam holding back an enormous lake to the southeast failed. That flood scoured the canyon, plucked away rock, and helped carve the rim you see today.
Because the falls are formed on hard rock over softer layers, the plunging water has hollowed the base into a deep pool, and the whole horseshoe steps back upstream over long spans of time as the ledge erodes.
A river the salmon could not pass
Long before dams, Shoshone Falls was a natural barrier that salmon and steelhead could not climb, which shaped the fisheries and the peoples of the whole upper Snake. The Shoshone and Bannock peoples, whose name the falls carry, lived and fished along this river for countless generations and remain here today.
For nineteenth-century travelers on the Oregon Trail and later the railroads, the falls became one of the West's celebrated natural wonders, a place people detoured to see, which is how the Niagara of the West nickname took hold.
The canyon around it
The falls are only one stop along a spectacular reach of the Snake River canyon. Just downstream, the Perrine Bridge spans the gorge, and BASE jumpers legally leap from it year-round. Dierkes Lake, tucked beside the falls, offers calmer water and short trails.
The canyon rim holds hawks and swifts, and the river below draws waterfowl. In the surrounding Magic Valley, springs pour straight out of the canyon walls, feeding the Thousand Springs country downstream.
When to go
Come in spring, from roughly April into June, for peak flow, when the snowmelt makes the falls roar and the odds of rainbows in the mist are highest. This is the single best window.
By high summer the diverted river can leave the falls thin, though the canyon and park are still worth the stop. The park is generally open through the warm season, and mornings bring the softest light and the best rainbows.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Twin Falls
Perrine Bridge
About 3 miles west
A high bridge over the Snake River canyon at Twin Falls, one of the few places in the country where BASE jumping is legal year-round.
Dierkes Lake
Beside the falls
A small canyon lake next to Shoshone Falls with swimming, picnicking, and short hiking trails among the basalt.
Twin Falls
About 5 miles west
The main city of the Magic Valley, with canyon-rim trails, farm-country dining, and services.