Idaho • St. Anthony Sand Dunes • 2017–2021
Five Trips tothe Big Sand
St. Anthony Sand Dunes in a Toyota: what the dunes are, what the rules are, and what five years of trips taught me.
Sand, a Few Hours From Bozeman
Every spring for five years, from 2017 to 2021, a bunch of us loaded up and drove south to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes in eastern Idaho. I went in my tan FJ Cruiser every time. It came home with sand in places sand should not be able to reach, every time.
If you’ve never been, the scale is hard to explain. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the dune field is about 35 miles long and 5 miles wide, on the eastern edge of the Snake River Plain, with dunes running from 50 to 500 feet tall. The town of St. Anthony is about ten miles east, and Rexburg is about 11 miles south.
It’s a sandbox the size of a county. Here’s what you need to know before you take a Toyota into it.
The Rules That Actually Matter
Whip flag. The BLM requires a whip mast at least 8 feet above the ground with a brightly colored flag. This isn’t paperwork. On the back side of a dune, the flag is the only part of you anybody coming up the other side can see.
OHV sticker. Idaho residents need the state’s OHV registration sticker. Out-of-state rigs need either their home state’s registration sticker or an Idaho out-of-state sticker. Check the current rules before you go.
Spark arrestor and sound. The BLM lists a 96-decibel maximum sound level and requires spark arrestors.
Winter closure. The dunes close from January 1 until sunrise on April 1 or May 1, depending on the year, to protect winter range for elk, mule deer and moose. Every one of my trips was in May or June for that reason.
Stay on the sand. Off-highway vehicle use is limited to open sand and marked designated routes. The juniper and sagebrush areas around the dunes are habitat, not shortcuts.
How to Drive It Without Being the Story
Air down. Sand wants a big, soft footprint. Drop well below street pressure before you hit the dunes and bring a compressor for the drive home.
Momentum is free. Sand punishes hesitation. Pick a line, carry speed up the face, and don’t lift halfway.
Respect the lip. The top of a dune is where things go wrong. You can’t see the other side, and some dunes drop off a sharp slipface. Slow down at the crest, and never go over a ridge you haven’t looked at.
Climb straight, descend straight. Sidehilling a steep sand face is how trucks end up on their roofs. Point the nose up or down the fall line.
Go with a group. Someone will get stuck. It’s more fun when it’s someone else and they have a strap.
Where to Go
The BLM map names a handful of spots worth knowing. Deadhorse Bowl, in the western dunes, is the big one: about a mile around and 400 feet deep. You’ll also see Choke Cherry Dune, Middle Bowl, Devil’s Dune and Nine Mile Knoll on the map.
Even without names, the dune field is big enough that you can drive for an hour and feel like you’re the only truck on the planet. Then you crest a ridge and there are forty side-by-sides.
Where to Camp
Egin Lakes Campground is the developed option. The BLM lists 48 sites, all with electricity, plus a free RV dump. It’s generally closed from about November 1 to April 1. When it’s full, dispersed camping is allowed along parts of the Red Road. Campfires are allowed only in designated Red Road areas and existing metal fire rings, and quiet hours run from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Our group usually ended up in the sagebrush with tents, rooftop tents and a canopy, which is the right way to do it.
What Showed Up
Over five years, the Toyota count was ridiculous: FJ Cruisers every single year, Land Cruiser 80s and 200s, third-generation 4Runners, Tacomas, a Lexus GX and a red FJ40 that looked best right at sunset. There were Jeeps too, and side-by-sides by the hundred.
And yes, things went wrong. One year a 4Runner high-centered on lava rock at the edge of the sand, which is a reminder that the hard stuff around the dunes is just as capable of ruining your day as the soft stuff.
If you want more trail and trip ideas, my Seven Mile Rim trail report covers a very different kind of sand in Moab, and Snow Wheeling in Montana covers what happens when the sand turns white. For a newer truck on the same sand, see my 2025 Tacoma Trailhunter test at St. Anthony. Thinking about which Toyota to bring? Which Land Cruiser Should I Buy will tell you in seven questions.
Keep the flag up.
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