Idaho trip help

I am planning a vacation to Idaho with some colleagues for August/September and am looking for help. It will be part photo trip (for me) and part outdoor enthusiast (fishing, rafting, hiking, ATVing, etc) for all of us. I'm curious what areas you all might recommend for a week. I've done a little bit of research online around Stanley, but i've never been to the area, only near Moscow. We're considering renting a cabin or two large enough for 6-8 of us. I prefer to shoot mountains, old fences and buildings (barns, farm houses, and 1 room schoolhouses), streams, et cetera. I've got the Photograph America #74 newsletter on the Idaho Sawtooth Range and like what I see. Any other ideas or suggestions?

EDIT: Also looking for websites or useful books. I've done a quick Amazon search and found 1-2 useful books, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for your help!

I spent a week in Stanley several years ago and found it to be a most beautiful area. Sawtooths right out my front door in the morning.Salmon River runs right through town. Middle fork, the most popular for running the river a little farther north, but Stanley is still the rafting center where you book. Lots of cabins in the area to rent. There is a lake a few miles south. It think is called Red Fish that is gorgeous with cabins to rent.I might be wrong about the name. At the time Idaho was not any where as highly a developed tourist mecca as was Colorado and Wyoming and was pretty much unspoiled....Central Idaho, I loved it.
Joe Rogers

Yeah, Stanley is pretty hard to beat as a base, great access to the Sawtooths, lots of lakes, meadows and fences with mountain views, and it's pretty close to lots of other places. There are hot springs in town and others nearby, some a ways down the trails. You could drive down to Dagger Falls on the Middle Fork and maybe see some fall chinoook leaping. Lots of back roads to explore, and even more if you have four wheels. In addition to the Sawtooths, the White Clouds, Salmon River Mountains and Lost Rivers are all quite near, and all are spectacular. Stanley's still very unspoiled. It can be somewhat crowded in the summer, and if you have a choice, I'd avoid Labor Day weekend. If you can wait till after labor day, there'll be very few people, and maybe even some early colors starting here and there.

Feel free to drop me a line as your plans come together. I don't know the Sawtooths or White Clouds much, alas, but I'm fairly familiar with the Salmon river country and the Lost Rivers.

A side trip to Bruneau Dunes SP?

Hey, that's my neck of the woods. Stanley is awesome and would be great in August/Sept. You have the Sawtooths, Boulder/White Clouds,some old mining towns, lakes, fences and the great scenery around Stanley. I can give you some points of photography interest if you would like. How far are you willing to hike with your camera gear? From which direction will you be coming?

Ken, I think Bruneau Dunes would be too hot in August. Great in early spring or later in the fall. Good night shots from there too.

Hey, that's my neck of the woods. Stanley is awesome and would be great in August/Sept. You have the Sawtooths, Boulder/White Clouds,some old mining towns, lakes, fences and the great scenery around Stanley. I can give you some points of photography interest if you would like. How far are you willing to hike with your camera gear? From which direction will you be coming?

Ken, I think Bruneau Dunes would be too hot in August. Great in early spring or later in the fall. Good night shots from there too.

I would like to suggest the North face of Mount Borah and it's surrounding mountains. That area is considered Idahos Alps. Once you see it, you'll agree. By August the snow fields will be gone. In September there might be new snow on the mt tops, following storms. No fall color until late Sept. early Oct. Good gravel roads. A creek crossing. Worth a trip and a few hikes. You probably will not see another person while your there.

Amy, you might find Backcountry Roads - Idaho useful. I haven't found its directions exactly intuitive, but they're usable, and the books presents lots of great options with beautiful photography. The Falcon Hiking Idaho guide is a solid reference, and Margaret Fuller's various hiking books go into more detail. Check out Trails of the Sawtooth and Whitecloud Mountains and Trails of the Frank Church. Exploring Sun Valley is probably pretty good, though I haven't actually seen it.

I've never found any enormously helpful web sites on the area, but for inspiration you might check out Aaron Cowan and Leland Howard.

I used to live in that area, a small town called Mackay. The Lost River Valley has much to offer. I would reccomend a possible shoot for you at Willow Creek Summit near sunset. The summit overlooks the Lost River Valley from the North at 7,000 ft level. The main high way goes right over the pass so no hiking. You get a view that is amazing looking at 10,11, and 12,000 ft mtn peaks. If your lucky you will still have some snow n the peaks (June/July) As you drive south from Challis South you will go through Grand View canyon. You may want to shoot there. Cool little canyon the road goes through.
One of the great areas to shoot is the Copper Basin area and the 7 sisters. The wide open and quiet of the whole area will have you wanting to come back.
There are alpine lakes all over if you hike. As you head south through the Lost Valley a road called trail Creek Rd goes west and will drop you right into Sun Valley. So much to do and see. Pass Creek is another area to investigate. Have fun.

Amy,

I did a road trip up to the Sawtooths last summer. I concentrated on backpacking and hiking and got some photographs I'm very happy with. You can see some of those here; numbers 1, 2, and 3. I love mountains; I've traveled through a lot of them. I was really impressed with the Sawtooths. I only passed through Stanley a couple of times on my way out to the trails, but it is definitely the commercial center of the area.

I drove home through the Lost River area, and agree that it's also worthy of exploration, but -- in terms of the people you're travelling with -- the Sawtooths are probably a better bet.

Jackson, thanks for those links. Nice to see the work from Mssrs. Cowan and Howard.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll look into all the suggestions. I'm sure i'll have more questions as i get closer to D Day!