From Magic Valley Regional Airport in Twin Falls, you are never far from the action, with canyon rims, waterfalls, and high desert all within easy reach. Twin Falls sits on the edge of the Snake River Canyon, a 500-foot gash in the Idaho farmland that you cross on the Perrine Bridge the moment you arrive. The city is friendly and unpretentious, surrounded by potato and bean fields, with a lively downtown of breweries and cafes that has grown up fast in recent years.

Standout experiences around Twin Falls: - Watch BASE jumpers leap from the Perrine Bridge, one of the few legal launch spots in the country - See Shoshone Falls thunder over a 212-foot drop, taller than Niagara, best in spring - Hike or bike the Canyon Rim Trail past the Evel Knievel jump site - Kayak the Snake River from Centennial Waterfront Park to Pillar Falls - Soak at Miracle Hot Springs near Buhl - Explore Thousand Springs State Park, where water pours straight out of the canyon walls - Visit Hagerman Fossil Beds and the ancient horse fossils found there - Sample downtown Main Avenue breweries and food trucks

Twin Falls anchors the Magic Valley and makes a handy base for southern Idaho. Jerome and Buhl are minutes away, Shoshone Ice Caves are a half hour north, and Craters of the Moon's black lava fields are about 90 minutes away. Sun Valley and Ketchum are roughly an hour and a half north, and Boise is about two hours west. Order fries made from local potatoes and plan a spring trip when snowmelt sends the falls over the edge at full force.