This place is BIZARRE! The explorer in me loved it for it's cooky-ness and the historian in me was…read moreappalled at the conditions. So just keep in mind that you are in for an adventure and everything should be viewed skeptically and with a healthy dose of rural Idaho grace. We came for the cave, and walked away shocked by the museum. Idaho's Mammoth Cave is located near Shoshone ID. You'll take H-75 and see two options to the left to get to the caves. The first left is a smaller, bumpier road, so I suggest waiting for the second turn. You'll pull into what looks like a bunch of dumpy outbuildings and a giant round hut. Turns out...it is a bunch of dumpy outbuildings and a giant round hut. There are tons of falling down structures and old farm equipment, dotted by giant rock heads and strutting peacocks. This place also stylizes itself as a bird sanctuary, but we only saw peacocks. A lot of peacocks. You'll go into the giant hut, which is the entrance to the cave and to the "museum". We were greeted by a kind young man who gave us his canned introduction of the place, handed us a lantern and pointed us to the cave. Unfortunately this place is not ADA compliant. The path down to the cave is a dirt path, pretty steeply sloped. The entrance to the cave has steps and the cave itself has very uneven walking paths and is rather narrow at a few points. You will immediately feel a temperature drop. The cave trail is only about 1/4 of a mile, but you lose the outside light quickly. Definitely keep your lantern on and don't turn it off on your unsuspecting partner who will shriek, hit you, and then wrestle the lantern away. :) The cave is cool, with some homespun signs with some (questionable) information. After exploring the cave, you'll return to the surface along the same path. Then you can explore the "museum". I put this in quotes, because it's more a freaky curated collection of things. There are three concentric circles that you will navigate to see SO. MANY. THINGS. Many of them fake, some of them probably pilfered, and all of them so dusty. You will see a lot of taxidermy. No doubt those things are legit. I have serious doubts about the dinosaur bones and ancient artifacts. There is no attempt to protect any of the artifacts and my historian's heart was screaming at the lack of order, proper dating and classification, and controlled containment. Regardless of the legitimate status of this place, it is a true Idaho experience. Owned by a private family, out in the middle of the high desert, with zero attempt to pander to the masses. This place screams Idaho and is absolutely worth a visit.

A one time experience. Cave is interesting, different animals, a museum with lots of artifacts and…read morestuffed animals. A couple hours at the most for 15$ per person.

This was an intended stop along the I-90 between Yellowstone National Park and Spokane, WA for us…read more It popped up as an interesting thing to do along the route and it was! They have limited hours, so you have to be sure you hit during the open times. It was a really neat experience and loved the tour. We were expecting, actually hoping, for our guide to be dressed as a Madam and give us the tour of the bordello. Maybe even treat us as...'customers'? lol Ok, OK maybe not that far. But, OH the potential this place has! We saw children in the first floor area...probably not appropriate for the young ones even though everything is pretty tame. The upstairs is frozen in time, left as it was when it closed in the 80s. The tour took about 30 mins and then we could wander around up there as long as we liked. It's a neat little stop. Parking can be a challenge, but workable.

Such a fun tour! Our guide was an absolute delight. She knew ALL the gossip about the girls, and…read morethe Madam. It was genuinely a fun, and very entertaining tour. I highly recommend it.

Fantastic place to visit! The lady working there was very informative and presented with a lot of…read morepassion. She made sure everyone was engaged and we all really enjoyed the visit!

There is so much history in such a small town like Wallace, including this museum that details the…read morehistory and story of the railroad through the town. There are even artifacts from that time that were restored. It's not a huge place with just two floors so it'll probably take you less than an hour to see everything. It's free to walk through the museum but you can give a donation to keep the museum going. It's a great way to learn about the railway and how it's impacted the town.

So much history in a small town means there are museums to talk about it, and the mining museum…read moredoes a good job of that. I love that many of these museums are free (with a donation suggested). When you walk in, you'll see some small souvenirs that you can buy. If you continue straight, there is the exhibit where you can enter and walk around. The cool thing is that it is dark until you walk near it and then it lights up the next portion of the exhibit. As you go through the museum you learn about the process of mining and the history. You'll learn about the safety of it, drilling and equipment, and even explosives. You'll also learn about the different types of rocks, the development of mining equipment and technology to help increase productivity, the union formation and legal battles. There's really a lot to read and learn and you can spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes here.

I thought that this was a well done museum that far exceeded my expectations for a small town…read moremuseum. The staff was very friendly and answered our questions. They even told a fun story to the kids who were with us. There are lots of artifacts from the local area and some nicely set up displays that help portray what mining was and is like in the area. Be careful when it comes to the days that they are open. We drove to Wallace specifically to visit the mining museum and arrived to find it closed even though their website stated "open all year" and "open 7 days a week". We returned a few days later and were able to visit, but I would recommend making a phone call to confirm that they will be open when you intend to visit.

This museum is open June 1 to August 31 each year. And when it is, wow! Take either I-90 east bound…read moreexit 68 or west bound exit 69. If you miss exit west bound exit 69, exit 67 is a great back up exit.

An undiscovered gem in the Silver Valley. Located in the old theatre/fraternal order meeting hall…read morein downtown Mullan. Extensive mining, commercial and apparel exhibits. Mullan school annuals back to . . . Well worth the stop over. Easy I90 off/on. Friendly. Donation.

A Wonderful Historical Fixture in the Town of St. Maries…read more SITREP If you travel to St. Maries, ID, be sure to check out some of the historical landmarks of this logging town, including the Hughes House Historical Society. SETUP The Hughes House is basically a very grand LOG CABIN and it's foundation was built in 1902. It is located right smack in the middle downtown St. Maries. Over the years, the Hughes house has undergone many renovations and has transferred ownership many times - sometimes as a resident, and also as office space for a doctor's medical practice. HISTORIC LANDMARK It is a beautiful structure featuring great workmanship from the all-wood floors to the walls and lighting fixtures, very much a snap-shot in time of the early 20th Century. As such, the Centennial Committee of Benewah County then bought the Hughes House after a massive fundraising campaign and then opened the building as "The Hughes House Historical Museum" in 1990. THE LOWDOWN A fun stop in St. Maries filled with local history.