Alpine lakes, jagged granite peaks, and wild river headwaters in central Idaho.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a large federally protected landscape in central Idaho, managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of Sawtooth National Forest. Covering roughly 730,000 acres across parts of Blaine, Boise, Custer, and Elmore counties, it surrounds the Sawtooth Valley and protects a quintessential Idaho landscape of glaciated mountains, alpine lakes, and forested river corridors.
Beyond the Sawtooth Mountains themselves, the recreation area also encompasses the White Cloud, Boulder, and Smoky Mountains, as well as three designated wilderness areas: the Sawtooth Wilderness, the Hemingway–Boulders Wilderness, and the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness. The headwaters of the Salmon River, Big Wood River, Boise River, and Payette River all originate within its boundaries, tying the park closely to the broader hydrology of the American West.
Established in 1972, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area functions today as one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the northern Rockies, drawing visitors for hiking, backpacking, whitewater rafting, fishing, climbing, and wildlife watching in a landscape defined by its rugged peaks, glacier-carved basins, and quiet high-country lakes.
