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The St Anthony sand dunes located near St Anthony, Idaho, are heaven on
earth for hard core dune enthusiasts during the summer months. This 41,000
acre dune paradise stretches some 30 miles long and range from 1 to 5 miles
in width. The dunes rise from the 5000 foot elevation
200-300 feet and offer steep hill climbs, huge bowls, and minimal
witches eyes which make for some very fast dune rides!
Our annual trek from Southern California to the St Anthony dunes is a long
drive, close to 1100 miles. It's wise to make sure your tow vehicle is in
tip top shape and your tires in near perfect condition. We have heard many
horror stories of people blowing a tire in the middle of no where and it
takes hours to get back on the road. This cuts into your dune time and is a
bad thing!
We arrived at the Sand Hills resort, one of 3 camping areas right on the
dunes. Sand Hills sits on the east end of the dunes and is the nicest camp
ground at the St Anthony dunes. The large shade trees, lush grass, full
hook-ups, laundry and shower facility makes camping very comfortable! Sand
Hills had a recent owner change and we found the new owners very
accommodating. However we did not appreciate the large sign in the main
office that reads "This is not Glamis", implying that all Glamis goers are
lawless rowdy people with no respect for the land or other people using the
dunes.
After the long drive we couldn't wait to head out into the dunes. On your
way out of Sand Hills resort requires you have to wade your way through a
few miles of small dunes with lava rock scattered in various places. This is
not much fun in a sand rail, especially on the way back since all the dunes
drop off if you're headed east. However the trail is well marked through
this area so you don't end up at a dead end or in a tight spot.
Once in the 'big stuff'
it's game on! The first area where you can really mash the go pedal is a
hill called Thunder Mountain. After a few sweeps of the mountain we crested
the top and continued into St Anthony's heavenly sand. Dune after dune
offered high speed runs through half bowls, swooping up and down steep hills
through grassy trails as well as some large bowls.
A few miles into the dunes you come to Dead Horse bowl and Choke Cherry
hill. Dead Horse bowl is a massive bowl with a decent G-out on one side of
it and wide open virgin sand around the rest. We spent lots of time at this
bowl during our trip. Close to Dead Horse is Choke Cherry hill which is one
of the tallest and steepest hills of sand we have ever seen. The first run
up is usually intimidating. Everyone in our group had no issues powering up
this massive hill but we did see a few people get stuck and have to back
down to the bottom.
Continuing west we come
to the end of the dune system to a bowl called Devils Dune. This is by far
the largest and best bowl St Anthony's has to offer. It's a great place to
take a dune break as well as burn some fuel! We spent hours at this bowl
going round and round. Coming down the back side you can easily hit speeds
in the 80's or higher if you feel the need.
The town of St Anthony
is just a few miles away. They have just about everything you may need
during your stay including food, parts, race gas, and even trailer tires.
The people in town are extremely friendly and will bend over backwards to
try and help you. If St Anthony doesn't have what you need Rexburg is also
close. If you have any major problems with your sand rail,
Steve Wuerth of Wuerth Motorsports has recently
set up a shop very close to the dunes. If he doesn't have your part or can't
fix it he will have it shipped overnight and you can be back in business the
next day!
Sand Hills Resort
http://www.sand-dunes.com/
BLM Info
http://www.duneratt.com/BLM%20Regs/BLM_Regs.htm
Steve Wuerth (Wuerth
Motorsports) @ 951-442-7792
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