Has Overcrowding Ruined An Idaho Getaway Spot You Used To Enjoy?
Camping season is just about upon us in the Gem State. Following years of seeing a massive number of people move to Idaho from other states, some locals are annoyed at the fact that the campgrounds they used to enjoy and take weekends away at for some peace and quiet have now become overrun with transplants.
I wasn't born in Idaho. My wife's family is deeply rooted in the state. Her mother was born in Caldwell, and her grandfather operated a bean farm in southern Idaho for decades beginning in the fifties, and it was her idea to move our family there years ago from out of state.
When we would join her family on campouts, the subject of expansion in Idaho would come up frequently. I would hear comments all the time like, "There used to never be this many people here," or, "I can't believe how overcrowded it is now."
It became noticeable to me too after living in Idaho for a number of years. One of the spots we used to visit every summer near a river a few miles outside of Sawtooth City slowly changed over time and became massively overcrowded to the point where people would wander through our campsite and ask questions about where to float numerous times a day.
It's for reasons like these that my wife's family now goes way off-grid in the Sawtooth Mountains to camp. Have you noticed that a favorite spot you used to visit in Idaho is overcrowded to the point that you don't go back?