Shoshone Falls is the Niagra of the West - actually the falls are taller than Niagra... 211 feet and the top of the falls sit 400 feet below the canyon’s rim. The Snake River Canyon was carved out of the lava by the ancient year-long floodwaters of Lake Bonneville when a natural dam broke about 14,500 years ago. Lake Bonneville covered much of Southern Idaho and Northwestern Utah, and the Great Salt Lake is a small remnant of it. Driving south from Ogden area and into Salt Lake Valley, you can see up on the mountain sides what once was the shore line... and you realize that 15,000 years ago you would have been in hundreds of feet of water. Bonneville Shoreline Trail has some info on it.
During the winter, there is hardly any water at all flowing over the falls due to the low water level. The most spectacular time to visit the site is in the spring when the snow melt has the river flowing strong. Several years ago the river was at flood stage and over 53,000 cubic feet per second was flowing over the falls and even the locals went to see the sight. By mid-summer the flow diminishes due to water pulled from the Snake for irrigation of almost one million acres of farmland.
If you visit here, be sure to travel east another 2 miles to see the “Twin Falls”, where the city got it’s name. It has a very nice park there that is away from the crowds that go to Shoshone Falls in the spring and summer months.
Please be careful! LOTS OF BURRS now growing in the area. Carhart and Stinson have clothing that burrs do not stick to. Long pants and long sleeve shirt are highly recommended. Use of duct tape from your shoes to your waist, both sleeves and the torso area has been used with success in keeping burrs off.... Otherwise plan for a good deburring session after the cache! Also.. wear good shoes!! Hiking boots even better! BTW - no matter what my California born and raised bride says - flip flops are not shoes!! :)