Bruneau Dunes SP, ID - Aug 2006

Bruneau Dune is the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America. It rises 470 feet high above the high desert of southern Idaho. The dune is located about 20 miles south of the town of Mountain Home, Idaho. The state park has a campground, visitor's center, lake, day use area and several hiking trails.

We arrived at Bruneau Dunes State Park and were delighted to find a nearly empty, shady oasis of a campground in the middle of a desert. This older campground had lots of large shade trees and plenty of grass and a view of the dunes even though they were about two miles away. We ended up staying here four days and the only reason we left is that the nearby fires had created so much smoke in the air that we decided to move on.

One afternoon we drove over to the dunes and walked around the lake that was at the base of the dunes. The lake was small and shallow and had one little island sprouting up in the middle. There wasn't much in the way of greenery around the dunes, so this bright patch of green reflected in the middle of the lake made for a interesting photo.