How much snow does Island Park, Idaho get?

Island Park averages roughly 150 to 210 inches of snow per year depending on the station and elevation — over twelve feet, and the highest of any town in Idaho. January and December are the heaviest months. First measurable snow usually falls in October and the last is often recorded in May.

How deep is the snow in Island Park right now?

Base depth varies sharply by elevation across the caldera — the flats around Macks Inn and Last Chance run well below the Sawtelle and Two Top benches. This page tracks the valley-floor base at roughly 6,300 feet along with season-to-date total against the long-term average.

Are the roads to Island Park cabins plowed in winter?

US-20 is maintained by the Idaho Transportation Department all winter. Many subdivision roads, shared private lanes and individual driveways are not — they are the responsibility of the owner or the road association. A great many Island Park cabins sit behind access that nobody is contracted to clear.

Why does Island Park drift so badly?

Large parts of Island Park are open meadow and sagebrush flat with no windbreak. Sustained wind moves already-fallen snow across open ground and deposits it wherever the wind slows — typically across driveways, at treelines and in road cuts. Drifts routinely form on clear days with no new snowfall at all.

Free tool · Island Park, Idaho

Island Park
Snow Report

How deep it is right now, how the season stacks against average, whether the wind is going to close your access, and which roads are actually being maintained. Built for anyone trying to work out if they can get to their place this weekend.

Sample data — live feed pending

Right now

Base depth

2 ft

4 ft

6 ft

4'8"

Valley floor
Island Park · 6,300 ft

Season to date

146″

+11″ above the 30-year average for this date

Drift outlook — next 48 hrs

Elevated

Sustained W/SW wind over open flats. Expect loading across east–west driveways and treeline gaps. No new snowfall required.

US-20 status

Open · Maintained

ITD maintains the highway all winter. Side roads and driveways are not included.

The part that catches people out

Who plows what

The highway being open tells you nothing about whether you can reach your cabin. Here is where responsibility actually stops.

Winter maintenance responsibility by road type in Island Park, Idaho
Road type	Who maintains it	Winter status
US-20 highway	Idaho Transportation Dept.	Maintained all winter
County roads	Fremont County	Varies — priority order
Subdivision loops	HOA or road association	Only if contracted
Shared private lanes	The owners on the lane	Usually nobody
Your driveway	You	Nobody, unless you hire it

Not sure which of those rows you are in?

Take the Drift Risk Check. Four questions, thirty seconds, and you will know your exposure, why, and roughly what it costs to keep the access open all season.

Check your drift risk

The question everyone types first

How much snow does
Island Park get?

Depending on which station you take and which year, Island Park averages roughly 150 to 210 inches a season — call it over twelve feet. That is the highest of any town in Idaho, and it is why the caldera holds a snowmobile trail system people fly in for.

December and January carry the heaviest accumulation. The first measurable snowfall usually lands in October and the last is often recorded in May — a seven-month winter, not a three-month one. Elevation matters enormously: the Sawtelle and Two Top benches hold far deeper snow than the flats around Macks Inn and Last Chance, and the same storm can leave very different numbers eight miles apart.

The number that actually determines whether you can reach your cabin, though, is not on any forecast: how much of that snow the wind decides to put across your driveway. Open sagebrush flats with no windbreak will produce a four-foot drift on a clear, calm-looking afternoon, using snow that fell three days earlier. That is the Island Park problem in one sentence.

Check it yourself

Cameras & official sources

We would rather you had the real numbers than took our word for it.

Highway cameras

Idaho Transportation Department runs live cameras along US-20 through the caldera. Best real-time read on whether the highway is drifting.

SNOTEL depth data

NRCS SNOTEL sites near Island Park report snow water equivalent and depth daily. The authoritative source for season-to-date against average.

Avalanche & wind forecast

The Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center covers Island Park and publishes the wind detail that drives drifting across the flats.

Links to each source are added when the live data feed goes in.

Reading the snow report
from four hours away?

That is exactly who we built the service for. Get your cabin on a route and stop refreshing a webcam to guess whether the driveway is open.

Check your drift risk See plans

Island ParkSnow Report