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Such a cool experience! Lots of fire ants and a looong drive on some easy dirt roads. You will see some beautiful farmland and then be rewarded with a great view of the falls it blm down near the cauldron so get ready for an adventure. The hill going down In looks knarly and suggests 4x4 but I imagine only when wet. I made it no problem in my fwd dodge minivan
I’m leaving a 3 star because it’s 2023- and we have had record breaking water and there is like no water. Unless there are many years of high water, I don’t think this place is really worth visiting. It sounds like the water is being held higher up, in anticipation of drought later on. We spoke with some locals that said usually the whole basin would be covered in water- turning it into level 5 rapids. You can’t swim in it when it’s like that because you’d die. When we saw it, there was pools of standing nasty yellow water, and a trickling waterfall. I added a photo of what it should look like with high water, vs the same spot when we saw it.
So it’s still a fun check out if you’re in the area- but don’t go out of your way for it unless there have been multiple high water years.
Star Falls a.k.a. Caldron Linn is a beautiful area in the Snake River canyon. It is particularly beautiful and powerful when the water is flowing in a high volume. We enjoy the raw beauty of nature here.
Caldron Linn was a key site of the Overland Party of the Pacific Fur Company, an expedition to the Pacific Ocean led by Wilson Price Hunt. The expedition attempted to canoe down the Snake River in 1811 and had already lost one of their party to the river when they encountered the waterfall. The churning waters of the falls inspired the expedition to abandon the river and continue on land to the Pacific. The falls most likely were named by a Scottish member of the party, there being a waterfall in Scotland of the same name. East of present-day Murtaugh, the waterfall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 for its role in the expedition. (Wikipedia)
