Detouring through volcanic landscapes and red rock deserts

As you drive from Downieville to Tahoe, you'll be in an area that was once traveled by pioneers heading across the country in search of new lives in Oregon and California. Donner Pass is named for what is quite possibly the most famous party of pioneers from the era. The Donner Party, due to a series of ill-fated missteps, arrived here in November of 1846 and found this pass already blocked by snow. The pioneers were forced to spend a long and brutal winter on the east side of the pass, at what is now known as Donner Lake. 34 pioneers in the party died that winter, and those who did survive famously resorted to cannibalism. Today, the pass is quite easy to travel, as the scenic Northern Alternate Lincoln Highway crosses Donner Pass. Alternately, I-80 crosses the Sierra Nevada at what is sometimes called "Donner Summit". To get more in-depth on this slice of Westward Expansion history, stop by Donner Memorial State Park.

One of the coolest hidden gems of Lake Tahoe is the abandoned building on Fannette Island. It looks a bit spooky, but it's actually a tea house. Well, really, it's an unused chapel/tomb turned tea house. The structure was originally built by Captain Dick "Them's My Toes" Barter. He was an eccentric, yet reclusive English sailor who was famous for showing off his self-amputated toes. Captain Dick planned to be buried in the building, but since he was lost at sea (or lost at lake, if you will) off Tahoe's Rubicon Point in 1873, he couldn't exactly be buried here. The stone structure was then snapped up by the wealthy Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, the ex-wife of a stockbroker named Charles French Knight. Mrs. Knight is best known for constructing Vikingsholm, a Scandinavian-inspired castle on the shores of Lake Tahoe in 1928 (it's still standing today, and is open for tours). She's the one who turned the building on Fannette Island into a tea house; she would take friends out here on a motorboat.

Today, you can kayak, paddle board, or boat out to the island from Emerald Bay and explore it for yourself. Just don't plan on swimming over, since it's not allowed ... it's too cold and too dangerous with all of the boats.

Take your adventure underground at Lava Beds National Monument. This area is home to hundreds of lava tube caves. A lava tube forms when a molten rock flow begins to cool, hardening around the edges right before the lava flow tapers off, leaving behind a hollow shell. Roughly twenty of the tubes are open to visitors, and each cave is totally different, meaning there's something for every kind of visitor. Mushpot Cave, for example, is near the visitor center, contains exhibits, and is the only lighted cave at Lava Beds, so it's great for anyone who is afraid of the dark or who might have claustrophobia. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Skull Cave, which is notoriously dark and cold and comes complete with an ice pool at the bottom. Big Painted Cave has ancient Native American pictographs around the entrance, Golden Dome Cave has hydrophobic bacteria covering the ceiling, giving it a golden yellow hue, and Catacombs Cave is the lowest, twisty-est, and longest cave in the park.

You can also sign up for guided tours of some of the more delicate caves. In the winter, for example, you can visit the mesmerizing Crystal Ice Caves-- it's definitely not for the inexperienced caver, since you'll be squeezing through some tight spaces and navigating icy, rocky terrain, but it's a rare chance to look at the best ice formations that occur in the lava tubes. And if you're visiting during the summer, you can book a tour of Fern Cave-- the unusual and fragile environment allows for some beautiful plant life and rock formations that most visitors to the park won't ever get to experience.

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is a geology enthusiast's dream ... albeit one anyone can enjoy. You can appreciate the stunning and colorful eroded rock formations and fossils for their aesthetic beauty or their scientific value, or both. The Monument is divided up into three spread out units: the Clarno Unit, the Painted Hills Unit and the Sheep Rock Unit. The Painted Hills are internet famous for the bright colors that appear to be splashed all across the rocks. Sheep Rock is a great starting place for those who haven't explored the Monument since it's home to the main visitor center and the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, both of which provide valuable insight and background on the rich natural history in the area. All three units offer hikes loaded with interpretive signs and plenty of ranger-led programs to further add to the experience. And the best part? Admission to all of this is totally free.

There's no better break from the road than a soak in a hot spring, and Idaho has tons of geothermal relaxation to offer. Kirkham Hot Springs are undeveloped, so they have that natural atmosphere, but they also are convenient to reach and have some amenities (like parking, vault toilets, a staircase down to the river, and campsites available nearby.) Wade in the river to find soaking pools of varying temperatures and steamy waterfalls that can be used as a warm, natural shower. It can get a bit crowded in the summer months, but it's quite secluded in the winter. Pro tip: Highway 21, which runs alongside these springs, is actually lined with hot spring sites perfect for a relaxing dip.

Forged from the lava and ash of thousands of years of volcanic activity, Craters of the Moon National Monument is a spot that’s invented its own kind of natural beauty. Here you'll find the remains of more than 25 volcanic cones and 60 ancient lava flows. Eruptions at Craters of the Moon occurred between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago. That means that Native American tribes like the Shoshone likely witnessed some of the later eruptions, and stories from their culture seem to corroborate this; they tell of an enormous serpent who, angered by lightning, coiled around a mountain so tightly that it exploded in a firey eruption of molten rock.

Pioneers more or less avoided the area, as it was too rocky for crops or cattle, so it wasn’t until the early 20th century that people started to explore it. In the 1920s, Calvin Coolidge proclaimed in a National Monument in order to “preserve the unusual and weird volcanic formations” (yes, he actually called this place “weird.”) In 2017, the Idaho State Senate voted to petition the federal government to declare it a National Park. Interestingly enough, it’s thought that the hotspot underneath the Yellowstone Caldera (the Supervolcano) was actually located here years ago, and moved to its current position as plates shifted. And as for the “moon” part of things, it got its name from its striking similarity to the rocky, barren landscape of the moon. In fact, in 1969, a group of astronauts (they would become the second men to walk on the moon) visited here to study and adjust to the harsh environment.

There's plenty to do here. You can see purple-blue obsidian embedded in the North Crater Flow, explore the Devil’s Orchard (a collection of cinder cone fragments), hike to the top of Inferno Cone, look at the tree molds (formed when the bark of ancient trees left prints in lava), camp out, cruise Loop Drive through the stark landscape, and spend a few hours exploring the lava tubes in the cave area.

On the Great Salt Lake's northeastern shore lies the massive Spiral Jetty. The 1,500-foot-long, 15-foot-wide coil is made of 6,500 tons of basalt, earth and salt. It's the most famous work by renowned artist Robert Smithson, who remains particularly known for his land art and theoretical essays. He chose the site for the jetty because of the striking red color of the water (this part of the lake is especially saline and the red hue comes from algae and bacteria that flourish in that environment). He also liked the "stark anti-pastoral beauty" and industrial surroundings. Spiral Jetty was completed in April of 1970, and can still be seen today. Check the levels of the lake before you visit; if the water is high, the jetty might be submerged and harder to see.

Sego (or the Ballard-Sego Coal Mine Historic District if we're being formal) is a perfect example of a classic Western mining ghost town. Originally called Nelsen, it was a company town for the American Fuel Company (later renamed the Chesterfield Coal Company.) The name Sego was eventually chosen as a tribute to the sego lily, Utah's state flower. The town lasted for only a short while, from 1910–1955, and its population topped out at around 200 citizens in the 1930s. The Chesterfield Coal Company shut down in 1947, and the railroad into town was abandoned in 1950. Scarce water, fire, and flash floods had also plagued the town throughout its history. Some buildings, like the company store, remain standing, and the collapsed wooden remains and dug out foundations of others can be seen as well. And if you happen to see smoke billowing from abandoned mine shafts while you visit, that's from an underground coal seam fire that has burned here for decades.