Rock Climbing in Howe, Idaho

Howe, Idaho sits in the high desert of the Lost River Valley, and the rock climbing here punches well above what most people expect from a small agricultural town. The main draws are Box Canyon and the James Bond Wall — a crag that earned its name honestly, with routes like Thunderball, Dr. No., Oddjob, and Goldfinger-adjacent lines packed onto compact basalt and rhyolite faces. The Lemhi Range climbing area adds a different character entirely, with routes like Lemhi Winds and Canvas of the Sheepeaters offering a more committing, less-trafficked experience. Closer to the canyon floor, walls like the Bardini Wall and Acupuncture Slab give you technical face climbing on featured rock, while routes like Rite of Passage, Barely Legal, and It Ain't a Perfect World suggest a spread of difficulty that rewards climbers who are willing to work through a tick list rather than just grab the classics. With 29 active listings in and around Howe, there's enough variety to justify a long weekend or a week-long trip, especially if you're combining Box Canyon sport climbing with exploratory routes in the Lemhi Range. The area sees far less traffic than City of Rocks to the south, which is either a selling point or a caution depending on how you feel about beta being hard to find on the ground.