Idaho cliff jumping spots
Idaho is granite lakes, Snake River canyon walls and hot-springs rivers. The Sawtooth and Panhandle lakes are the deep, clear jumps; the Snake near Twin Falls is the big-air country. Several well-known spots are closed to jumping by state parks, and those are left off the map on purpose.
18
cliff jumps
80 ft
tallest listed
16
counties
7
training pools
Showing 25 of 25 in Idaho
Cliff jumps18
80 ftBlacktail cliffs (Ririe Reservoir)
Expert Unverified 15 · 35 · 80 ft Bonneville CountyBasalt walls on the north end of Ririe Reservoir below Blacktail Park, 20 minutes from Idaho Falls. A trail from the south end of the parking lot runs along the cliffs with…
45 ftThe Cliffs (Payette Lake)
Intermediate Unverified 15 · 30 · 45 ft Valley CountyGranite cliffs on the east shore of Payette Lake north of McCall with painted height marks on each takeoff, topping out at 40 to 50 feet. The highest spot needs a running start to…
40 ftMassacre Rocks (Snake River)
Intermediate Unverified 10 · 40 ft Power CountyBasalt ledges over the Snake River below the campground at Massacre Rocks State Park, from small rocks up to about 40 feet. Swimming is officially prohibited in the park.
35 ftHidden Lakes (Snake River Canyon)
Intermediate Unverified 10 · 35 ft Twin Falls CountyA string of small lakes tucked into the canyon walls a short walk past Dierkes Lake, ringed by cliffs from 5 feet to over 35, with bigger walls above for the very experienced.
30 ftDierkes Lake
Beginner Unverified 15 · 30 ft Twin Falls CountyBasalt ledges over a clear spring-fed lake in the Snake River canyon next to Shoshone Falls Park. Idaho's signature jump spot, with a lifeguarded beach on the other side of the…
25 ftBloomington Lake
Beginner Unverified 15 · 25 ft Bear Lake CountyA small emerald cirque lake in the Bear River Range above Bear Lake, ringed by cliffs with a 30-foot rope swing off a big tree on the east side and jumps up to about 25 feet from…
25 ftGreen Bay (Lake Pend Oreille)
Beginner Unverified 10 · 25 ft Bonner CountyA granite shoreline and cobble beach on the east side of Lake Pend Oreille south of Sandpoint, with rocks along the bay for 10 to 25-foot jumps into Idaho's deepest lake. The…
25 ftOwsley Bridge (Snake River, Hagerman)
Beginner Unverified Gooding CountyA 1921 steel truss bridge over a deep, slow stretch of the Snake below Hagerman, closed to cars and open to walkers. Locals jump from the deck and the low rock on the bank into…
25 ftTubbs Hill (Lake Coeur d'Alene)
Beginner Unverified 8 ft deep Kootenai CountyGranite bluffs on the lake side of the Tubbs Hill loop trail in downtown Coeur d'Alene, with jumps around 25 to 30 feet into the lake. A rite of passage for locals.
20 ftHospital Bridge (Big Wood River)
Beginner Unverified Blaine CountyThe Wood River Valley's summer jump: roughly 20 feet off the bridge over the Big Wood between Ketchum and Hailey, with a beach below it to warm up on. Visit Sun Valley lists it as…
20 ftHoward's Plunge cliffs (North Fork Payette, Cabarton)
Beginner Unverified Valley CountyCliffs on river left below Howard's Plunge, the 12-foot class III+ drop on the Cabarton run of the North Fork Payette south of Cascade. Rafters eddy out and jump from the rock…
20 ftRedfish Lake jump rocks
Beginner Unverified Custer CountyGranite outcrops on the shore toward the back of Redfish Lake under the Sawtooths, with 20-foot jumps into some of the clearest water in Idaho. Boaters anchor off the rocks; the…
20 ftVineyard Lake (Snake River Canyon)
Beginner Unverified Twin Falls CountyA spring-fed lake in the Snake River canyon a couple of miles below the Hansen Bridge, with a big rock face for free climbing and jumps of 20 feet or less into deep water. A…
15 ftKirkham Hot Springs jump rock (South Fork Payette)
Beginner Unverified Boise CountyA jump rock and clear swimming hole on the South Fork Payette right beside the Kirkham hot springs east of Lowman. Soak in the pools, jump the rock into the cold river, repeat.…
10 ftJump Creek Falls
Beginner Unverified Owyhee CountyA 60-foot ribbon falls in a slot canyon in the Owyhee foothills southwest of Marsing, dropping into a swimming pool with low rock walls. More swimming hole than big-air spot.
Big Rock (Church Rock, Ketchum)
Unverified Blaine CountyA deep, mellow pool on the Big Wood behind the church on Warm Springs Road, close enough to ride a bike to from the middle of Ketchum. Short jumps off the rock rather than big…
Lion Creek granite slides (Priest Lake)
Unverified Boundary CountyIdaho's natural water slide: Lion Creek pours down a hundred feet of smooth granite slab in a sub-alpine valley above Priest Lake, slick enough to ride and ringed by domes and…
Pillar Falls (Snake River)
Unverified Twin Falls CountyA reef of basalt pillars standing out of the Snake between the Perrine Bridge and Shoshone Falls, reachable only by paddling two miles up the canyon. By late summer the river…
Training pools7
Public pools with springboards or platforms, for working on height and entries in the off-season.
33 ftLava Hot Springs Olympic Swimming Complex
Training pool 3 · 10 · 16 · 23 · 33 ft 17 ft deep Bannock CountyThe best public diving tower in the region: 5, 7 and 10 meter platforms plus 1 and 3 meter springboards over a 17-foot-deep, heated outdoor Olympic pool in Lava Hot Springs,…
10 ftMeridian Pool
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep Ada CountyMeridian's outdoor 25-yard community pool with a low board and a 3 meter high board over the deep end, plus three slides. The tallest public board in the Treasure Valley in…
10 ftWes Deist Aquatic Center (Idaho Falls)
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep Bonneville CountyIdaho Falls' indoor Olympic-size pool downtown, open since 1986, with springboards over the deep end and public swim six days a week all year. The only year-round board in eastern…
10 ftWest Boise YMCA / Boise City Aquatic Center
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep Ada CountyThe Treasure Valley's indoor diving pool: 1 meter and 3 meter springboards over a dedicated diving well at the West Boise YMCA, jointly run with the City of Boise and open…
8 ftTwin Falls City Pool
Training pool 3 · 8 ft 12 ft deep Twin Falls CountyA 50-meter by 25-yard pool under a dome, open year-round, with two 1 meter springboards in the eight-lane deep end, two slides, and an inflatable climbing tower on Sundays. Ten…
3 ftHarward Recreation Center (Nampa)
Training pool 10 ft deep Canyon CountyNampa's big city rec center has five indoor pools, including a separate diving pool about 10 feet deep with a springboard, kept at 82 degrees and open year-round. The off-season…
3 ftNatatorium Pool and Hydrotube (Boise)
Training pool 12 ft deep Ada CountyBoise's outdoor pool on Warm Springs Avenue, on the site of the original 1892 Natatorium, with two 1 meter springboards over a 12-foot deep end and the Hydrotube water slide. The…
Cliff jumping in Idaho: common questions
- Where can you go cliff jumping in Idaho?
- SmartLeap maps 18 cliff jumping spots in Idaho across 16 counties, concentrated around the Snake River, the Sawtooths, North Idaho lakes. Every listing gives the jump heights, the water depth where someone has measured it, how to get there and what the hazards are.
- What is the highest cliff jump in Idaho?
- The tallest jump mapped here is 80 ft at Blacktail cliffs (Ririe Reservoir). Height is not the same as safety: depth under a jump changes with the season, so check your own landing before anyone goes off it.
- Is cliff jumping legal in Idaho?
- It depends on who manages the land. Spots that a land manager has closed to jumping are deliberately left off this map, and where a place has a posted rule — a height limit, a waiver, a seasonal closure — the spot page says so. Signs on site always win over anything written here.
- When is the season for cliff jumping in Idaho?
- Most of it runs from mid-July into September, after spring runoff drops out of the rivers and the water has had a few weeks of sun. Early-season flows are the thing that actually kills people, not the height of the rock.
- Where can you practice jumping in Idaho in the winter?
- 7 public pools in Idaho have diving boards or platforms, listed on this page under training pools. A 10 meter platform is 33 ft, taller than most cliffs on this map, which makes it the best off-season practice there is.