Pioneer Trails West-Malad Area

This Presbyterian Church began in Malad in 1876 when Reverend Duncan James McMillan came to the town and started a Sunday School. This church was built in 1882 as a chapel and is one of the oldest remaining buildings in the city.

This local museum is housed in a building that was built in 1914 as a drug store. The original safe and pressed-tin ceiling are still intact. The museum had its origins in a collection of mementos gathered by Miss Hattie Morgan and the Native Daughters of the Idaho Pioneers group…

Camping is a very popular activity in the Bear River Heritage Area. Here you can purchase locally made canvas tipis, tents and camp supplies. Red Hawk made the world’s largest tipi for use at the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. They also specialize in making reproduction tents that are…

Outside of Weston, Idaho, and on the way to the Weston Reservoir, there is a historical site known as the Pass of the Standing Rock. This site was sacred to the Shoshone and other Native American tribes and became a landmark for early pioneers. The giant rock stands nearly 100…

Malad Valley Heritage Square is a wonderful collection of Pioneer era cabins, an old fashioned Ice Cream store, covered wagons and farm machinery. It includes the Osmond Family Homestead. Free Self Guided Tours daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. Children must be accompanied by an adult. They hold several old…

This block housed the first department store in Idaho, the Evans Co-op, which was part of the Mormon cooperative movement of the 1860s, in which local production and purchasing was encouraged through cooperatives. The block, including both the co-op building and the old J.N. Ireland Bank, is on the National…

The only national grassland in the intermountain West, the Curlew National Grassland was established in 1960 to improve soil and vegetation and promote sound agricultural practices. The land was cultivated and farmed in the early 1900s, and you can still see evidence of many old homesteads in the area. The…

This reservoir features many types of birds, such as song birds, upland birds, marsh birds, water fowl, and more. Visit this site in spring and summer.

This is an Art Deco brick veneer building built in 1939 as part of a WPA project. It has an elaborate terra cotta entry.

The town of Malad got its name from the fact that when Donald McKenzie brought a party of trappers through the area between 1818 and 1821, they drank the river water and got sick. The Frenchmen named the river the Malad, meaning illness. The town was settled in 1862, after…

Clarence Hughes runs this charming 1892 store, which was moved to the town park in Samaria to keep it from being torn down. It’s a popular hangout for school kids and farmers in the afternoon. He sells local crafts, cookbooks, candy and sodas, and has video rentals. Historic photos and newspaper…

The City of Rocks National Reserve features granite spires and monoliths reaching 60 stories tall. Geologists estimate the oldest granite to exceed 2.5 billion years. Established in 1988 as a national reserve, City of Rocks encompasses 14,407 acres of land (about one quarter is privately owned) and is renowned for…

A visitors center located near the Utah/Idaho border, the Cherry Creek Visitors Center is the place to find brochures and to learn what's happening in southern Idaho.

With the goal of appreciation and education about Welsh settlement in Malad Valley, the Welsh Society was formed in 2004. Malad is a natural location for a Welsh festival as it has the largest per capita concentration of persons of Welsh ancestry outside Wales itself. The Welsh Society has the following goals:…

Weston Creek Reservoir is a beautiful spot just 15 minutes outside of Malad, Idaho. You can enjoy fishing and birdwatching. No fishing from boats or rafts allowed, but you can have float tubes. Visit this site in the spring and summer as it is closed off during the winter.

You can find a variety of old and new style headstones in this cemetery, including a headstone for a man’s amputated leg. In 1878, Ben Waldron lost his leg in a threshing accident. The leg was buried on the east side of the cemetery and was given a headstone with…

Evidence suggests that folks have been coming to Castle Rocks for nearly 9,000 years. Campsites are nestled among Idaho's largest pinyon pine forest on the east slope of the 7,500-foot Smoky Mountain.

In business since 1955, the Malad Drive-In features scones and fresh strawberry shakes in addition to the usual drive-in fare of burgers, fries and the like. And they still come to your car to take your order!

Local actors and actresses put on theater productions, and cowboy poetry is also hosted here.

Samaria, about 9 miles southwest of Malad, was once the largest town in the Malad Valley. Settled in 1868 by homesteaders, the town did well until the railroad was routed through Malad. After that, the primary businesses developed around the railroad terminal, and Samaria remained a farming community. A number…

This beautiful reservoir is surrounded by ranches and farmland and features many fishing opportunities. Some of the fish you can find here are rainbow trout, largemouth bass and cutthroat trout. Be aware that no watercrafts of any kind are allowed on this reservoir.