41 – Big Southern Butte
Big Southern Butte is a prominent volcanic dome located in Butte County, Idaho, rising approximately 2,500 feet above the surrounding Snake River Plain to an elevation of 7,550 feet. Formed around 300,000 years ago, it stands as one of the largest and youngest rhyolitic domes in the world.
The butte offers visitors a challenging yet rewarding experience. A rugged, single-lane Bureau of Land Management (BLM) road leads to the summit, accessible to high-clearance vehicles during favorable weather conditions. Hikers can also trek this route, enjoying panoramic views that extend from the Tetons to the south hills of Twin Falls. The surrounding landscape features unique geological formations, making it a fascinating destination for geology enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers alike.
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Coordinates: 43.396155, -113.022586
Elevation: 7520 ft
Difficulty: 3
What to Expect: No info
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First, I went south from Atomic city on Taber Rd, then west on Cedar Butte Rd, then I continued west on Big Southern Butte Rd through the desert along the north side of the Butte. Big Southern Butte Rd was full of deep sand ruts. More like powder ruts. Not my favorite stuff. It got me a bit tired in that sun before I even got to the Butte. Big Southern Butte Rd I would rate a 3 all the way up to the sign. After the sign, it was a solid 4, but only for about 1/2 mile maybe less. After the hard section, it stayed fairly rocky but not loose. I’d lower it back down to a 3 the rest of the way to the top. It was super smokey when I was up there, so I can’t say much for the view. Seems like it would be awesome.
Google suggested the exit path past one of the INL sites to the North. Fun loop – Elk, lava flows, remote cabins…had it all.
This was a surprisingly fun section. It was absolutely beautiful, and that wasn’t even from the top. If you just go to the gate at the bottom it’s a 3. If you go to the top it’s probably a 4. It’s fine to take the picture at the gate.
The worth section for me was actually right after it went gravel, because it was the small pea gravel stuff. Looping around the south side the road did get quite a bit more rocky, but I was able to move faster because it was well packed. This section was surprisingly fun.
After taking our picture at the gate we went north past the airport. There was a sign saying no public access, but it was set up in a way that was kind of ambiguous so I’m not actually sure if the section highlighted in yellow is supposed to be used or not. It was the most difficult section since it was loose dirt, and the heavy bike sank in it several inches. We just had to go slow and were fine.
That’s quite a butte! I didn’t go all the way to the top on the heavy bike.
I made it to about the point where Cuprum Hermit took his pic, but Stacy got stopped after the yellow gate and had the bandana, so I went back to help her., I decided that it was too sketchy to risk continuing alone. Is that the wisdom I’ve heard about that comes with age?
Nice view from the second sign.
Made it to the first yellow gate after the two signs. Then it was nope, nope, H E double HELL nope!!! Got stuck on a steep hill with too many large rocks. I feel like the road to the hill was a 3 then harder farther up you go.
Ditto to what Chatt said. I threw my chain on the way up to the second sign when a rock get into my rear sprocket. After this I was dealing with chain issues the rest of the ride and used 2 cycle oil to lube it.
A fail on my part. We could continue but high risk of bike damage. Would like to go back with little bike. At this point two bikes were down and we had to do some reflection.
If your on a bigger bike you might want to take your picture at the first or second sign.
I got this site on Alec’s 3 day 1300 mile ride Day 2. “see Chatty’s comments” I started up where chatty stopped and lost momentum on a steep rocky spot. I didn’t want to break anything so I called it there. I think this would be a good smaller bike trail.
This is not a big bike ride unless you are the likes of Pol Tarres. The ride in from the south to the structure at the base of the climb is an easy 2. The ride up gets rocky and hard after the first sign. I dropped the bike about 30 yards past the sign and had a look up the hill and said to myself ‘noooop’! The picture does not give the steepness of the hill justice.We may go back with dirt bikes to see if we can get the view from the top. I’m going to rate this as a 3 to the sign, and a 4 beyond that.
I had no idea this was out here. Been by it a 100 times. Fun ride out to the butte and certainly a challenging climb. After picking up my bike for the 3rd time I decided I had run completely out of talent and turned around short of the top. Gonna come back again for this one.
Made it to the foot of Cedar/Southern Butte. Not open until mid May, but I met Dave there, and he is 77 years old, and still enjoys kicking up some dust. Road in was recently graded, but there was pockets of thick gravel to navigate.