The Bear River in Soda Springs, Idaho.

Pioneer Trails East-Soda Springs Area

Pioneer Trails East in Caribou County Idaho.

Pioneer Trails East encompasses Caribou County, and includes the city of Soda Springs as well as smaller historic towns like Grace, Bancroft, and Henry, Idaho.

Caribou County is part of the Pioneer Trails region of the Bear River Heritage Area, named for the fact that several old overland trails pass through this region, the most notable being the Oregon/California Trail.

Caribou County is home to some famous landmarks that were important to the emigrants of the nineteenth century landmarks like Sheep Rock near Soda Springs. Soda Springs was also the point at which the Hudspeth’s Cutoff portion of the Oregon Trail took off to the west. This part of Idaho was part of the early Mormons’ settlement efforts, and it is still heavily populated with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but because it is in Idaho rather than Utah, certain cultural differences became evident. For instance, parts of this region were seen as a refuge for people seeking to escape the Mormon Church’s influence, and some of the towns here had beginnings quite different from those of typical Mormon settlements.

This region is also rich in mineral and geothermal activity, leading to such phenomena as phosphate mining and hot springs. Agriculture, including the raising of famous Idaho potatoes, remains an important part of the economy.

Explore Pioneer Trails East

Southeast Idaho High Country
P.O. Box 669
Lava Hot Springs, ID
1-888-201-1063

Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce 9 West 2nd South
P.O. Box 697
Soda Springs, ID
1-888-399-088

Grace Chamber of Commerce P.O. Box 214 Grace, ID