Looking for winter fun and adventure? Southeast Idaho in winter season is ideal for backcountry touring on skis or snowshoes with its powder slopes and cross country travel. And while touring, why not include an evening’s stay in a yurt?
ISU’s Outdoor Adventure Center has several Mongolian yurt-style structures available in the Portneuf Mountain Range. While staying in one of the yurts, you and your family and/or friends will spend an evening relaxing, enjoying one another’s company, playing games, sipping steamy hot beverages and listening to the calming stillness of the Idaho backcountry winter.
If you’re not familiar with ISU’s yurts, they are sturdy, yet beautiful, dome-shaped structures. The yurts are 16 to 20 feet in diameter, and each will accommodate 6 to 10 people, sometimes more. Each of the yurts are equipped with wooden bunks, a wood burning stove, a propane cooking stove and lantern, pots, an axe and fire wood.
Also these yurts include plastic skylights for watching the stars at night. New improvements for 2013 in the Skyline and Catamount yurts include aesthetically pleasing wooden floors. The Skyline yurt has all the mentioned equipment with added chairs. For answering nature’s calls, there’s a private outside outhouse near each yurt.
The adventure of journeying to and staying at the Portneuf Range yurts can be enjoyed by almost everyone. Some of the yurts are fairly easy to reach, making them accessible to families with children, while other yurts are for the more experienced backcountry travelers.
For instance, the trip into the Skyline yurt is rated “beginner to intermediate,” while the trip into the Jackson Creek yurt is rated “advanced intermediate or advanced.” No matter which yurt location you choose, it is sure to offer its own unique and breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains.
It is possible for skiers, if so desired, to make yurt-to-yurt trips along the Portneuf Range. Another option for yurt-goers is to ski or snowshoe into one yurt and use it as a base camp, while making daytrips to explore the surrounding mountainous area. Winter is still here, so why not implement your adventure today in a yurt?
For more details or specific information about the Portneuf Range Yurt System rental rates, equipment lists, available dates, maps of yurt locations, and rental policies contact the ISU Outdoor Adventure Center. You can call the office at (208) 282-2945, or visit the center on the first floor of the ISU Student Union Building at 921 S. 8th Avenue in Pocatello, Idaho.
The Portneuf Range Yurt System is made possible through the efforts of many volunteers as well as the cooperation between the ISU Outdoor Adventure Center, Caribou National.
