The Gem State combines rugged peaks and High Plains deserts. Sun Valley provides world-class skiing, year-round wilderness recreation and cultural events. The lakeside resort towns of Coeur d’Alene and McCall also offer an array of outdoor activities. Idaho has large tracts of designated wilderness allowing for outstanding fly-fishing in blue-ribbon trout streams and pristine rivers that spawn chinook salmon. Favorites include the Salmon River, Silver Creek Preserve and Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. The Payette River north of Boise offers Class III-IV rapids for daylong river-rafting excursions. For longer trips, rafting the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, which winds through the remote Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness, is an unforgettable experience. Idaho’s climate is moderate, even in the winter, and any season is a good time to visit.