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Land of the Yankee Fork State Park, Challis, ID

Photo: Jerry Willis from Tomé, NM, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Land of the Yankee Fork State Park

A history-focused Idaho state park that interprets frontier gold mining through an interpretive center, nearby ghost towns, and a historic gold dredge.

24424 Highway 75, Challis, ID 83226 · Challis, ID

About Land of the Yankee Fork State Park

Land of the Yankee Fork State Park covers 521 acres in central Idaho and focuses on the region's frontier mining past. Its interpretive center near Challis holds museum exhibits, a gold panning station, and audiovisual programs. Visitors can also explore the nearby ghost towns of Custer, Bonanza, and Bayhorse, the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, and the Challis Bison Kill Site. Challis Hot Springs, which became a unit of the park in 2022, offers swimming in naturally heated pools. The park also offers camping, hiking, biking, and scenic drives.

  • #history
  • #mining
  • #ghost towns
  • #museum
  • #gold panning

What's around here?

The closest stops to Land of the Yankee Fork State Park, ordered by straight-line distance.

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Sawtooth Mountain Guides

    $50+

    AMGA-accredited guide service leading climbing, hiking and backcountry ski trips in Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains.

    40 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Sawtooth National Recreation Area

    No admission fee

    Hike, camp, fish and raft among four mountain ranges and hundreds of glacial lakes at the head of the Salmon River.

    41 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Redfish Lake

    Under $25

    Swim, paddle and boat on an alpine lake under the Sawtooth peaks, or ride the hiker shuttle to the far trailhead.

    42 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums

    Sacajawea Interpretive Center

    Under $25

    A park and interpretive center in Salmon, Idaho, focused on Sacajawea and the Agaidika Shoshone-Bannock people.

    51 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Sun Valley Resort

    No admission fee

    Ski Bald Mountain's 3,400 vertical feet in winter, then golf, hike, bike and ride horses in summer.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    54 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums

    Wood River Museum of History and Culture

    No admission fee

    A Ketchum museum run by The Community Library that presents exhibits on central Idaho's regional history.

    55 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

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