Thunder Mountain Mining District

Drenched in history and decorated in natural beauty, the Thunder Mountain region in central Idaho offers visitors a window to the past and recreation to remember.

In the midst of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, the Thunder Mountain region was a gold mining hot spot in the late 1800s and was the site of the last major gold rush in the Lower 48 states. The region’s gold mining history is evident in the many shacks and shafts still standing from the gold rush era.

Those who didn’t find gold during their journey to Thunder Mountain didn’t walk away empty-handed. They experienced a wilderness full of rugged mountains, deep canyons, rushing whitewater rivers, glistening lakes, and cascading waterfalls.

Trust for Public Land partnered with landowners and the U.S. Forest Service to protect more than 720 acres at Thunder Mountain.

Today, the area is popular with people who come to fish, hunt, hike, ski, and snowmobile or explore mining structures and workings that date back as early as 1866. Hundreds of old mining claims are still privately owned in the area. Modern extraction techniques have raised the potential for industrial-scale development, which can irrevocably harm the landscape and its resources.

Transferring private mining camps into public hands protects the area from damage and preserves land important to outdoor enthusiasts, wilderness resources such as drainage areas where salmon return annually, and roads leading to mining artifacts from more than a century ago.

It also protects the ancestral home of the Tukudeka, a branch of the Shoshone Tribe who lived here until 1879. “This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect the integrity of a remarkable landscape,” says Eric Love, director of TPL’s Rocky Mountain Program.