Planet 4x4 Trip Reports
Running the St. Anthony Sand Dunes
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The St. Anthony Sand dunes located in Eastern Idaho about 8 miles west
outside of the town of St. Anthony is home to some of the best dunes in North
America and is a complete blast to go wheeling on!
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The Dunes got their start about 10,000 years ago at the
end of the last Ice Age. As the climate warmed, ancient Lake Terreton
receded and left behind a sandy shoreline. Over thousands of years, the
winds blew the sand and pilled it up just for you and your rig. Currently
the dunes cover a patch about 35 miles long and cover an area of 175
square miles. Some of the dunes now reach a height of over 400 feet tall
from the valley floor. Riding is open all over the dunes but the BLM wants
you to stay off the vegetation. No problem. |
| Requirements to ride the Dunes include a flag mounted to
whatever you are riding. It doesn't have to be an orange flag, any type of
flag will do as you can see. This is to help other riders see where you
are. I picked up mine at the local ATV shop for $12 and we were ready. |
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There are a few different campgrounds around the dunes and we elected to stay
in the BLM campground right at Egan Lake. The BLM also has a great day use area
where you can drop your truck and trailer. there is even a ramp to help get
stuff out of the back of your truck. Egan lake is a shallow sand lake that is
great to go wading in to cool off. The kids also loved it. There is no riding in
the water so its usually pretty clear. Its also a great place for bugs. Watch
out, I ended up with bites all over the legs. |
| The Dunes are where the real fun is. They are basically cut in half. On the
Eastern side the dunes are shallower and is a great place to dink around and get
the hang of things. The Western side has the largest of the dunes and large they
are. Everything from large bowls like Dead Horse Bowl to half pipes to strait
hill climbs like Choke Cherry Hill, St. Anthony has it all. |
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We got there, set up camp and loaded up to the head out. About 100 yards from
camp a rain storm hit real hard, we turned back and just made it in time to
weather out a pretty good thunderstorm that ripped through our Wal-Mart picnic
shelter with a laugh. It lasted about 20 min and after drying everything off and
piling the remains of the shelter onto the car trailer we headed back out. The
rain had cooled everything off and the rest of the day was great. A few more
rigs showed up and we played late. The only bummer was having the batteries in
my camera go dead and missing out on some great pics. |
| The sand is pretty forgiving but sometimes carnage does
happen. This one involved running into a flat from a steep hill with a
little too much speed. Carnage included one broken leaf spring, one bent
rim, and one busted bead on the tire. In no time patches were made and he
was a able to drive out to start getting ready for next time! |
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The next day we headed out for a few more hours and played until we could see
another storm heading our way. It was a good time to head home so we beat the
rain and pulled out of camp.
When we weren't wheeling, we were watching others hit it hard. Everything
from other rigs to ATV's to Sand Rails were out there. If you are looking for a
good easy time wheeling, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes can really deliver.
Planet 4x4
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