Montpelier Idaho Rafting

Montpelier is a city located in Bear Lake County, Idaho. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,785. The city is largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeastern Idaho along the Utah border. It was settled in 1863 by Mormon pioneers on the route of the Oregon Trail. In 1892 the railroad was extended to Montpelier, with a terminal being located here until 1972. U.S. Highways 89 and 30 intersect in Montpelier.

Today, Montpelier continues to be the central city in the Bear Lake valley. With a population nearing 3,000 and the home for the majority of valley businesses, the city continues to remember its roots with an eye to the future. The largest employers in Montpelier are Bear Lake Memorial Hospital and Bear Lake County School District. Farmers and ranchers continue to raise barley, wheat, beef cattle and dairy products in abundance. Recently, tourism has flourished thanks to the city's location between Salt Lake City, Utah and Jackson Hole/Yellowstone on U.S. Highway #89. Also, beautiful Bear Lake and its surrounding mountains and wildlife continue to draw visitors to the area. Montpelier is also proud of the recent addition of The National Oregon/California Trail Center, a living history interpretive center dedicated to the memory of our western pioneer heritage.