Perrine Bridge – Twin Falls, Idaho. Majestic Scenery

The Perrine Bridge is a spectacular bridge which spans the majestic Snake River Canyon on the northern edge of Twin Falls. It is 1,500 feet long and 486 feet above the Snake River. The four-lane bridge has pedestrian walkways with views of the river, sheer cliffs, the Blue Lakes, waterfalls, and can’t be missed as you come into town. It is jaw dropping beautiful.

There is also a park and two golf courses. There is a long road which descends to these areas. A lot of tourists may not know about this and we didn’t until our waitress at Papa Kelsey’s told us about it when we were having dinner. One day during our trip in May 2014, we actually went and drove down to the golf course and the boat dock. It was really quiet and we had a chance to just sit and relax. I said in my post on Shoshone Falls, that I fell in love with Twin Falls (here is a link to their website). It is an amazing city that I would be happy to call home. I love Denver, but I could see myself there too. Anyway, we saw quite a few other waterfalls as we drove around and stopped to take some pictures. It was a great afternoon. While we were there we learned that BASE jumpers enjoy the Perrine Bridge as their launching pad for parachuting from the bridge to the canyon floor below. BASE jumping is a sport involving the use of a parachute to jump from fixed objects. “BASE” is an acronym that stands for the four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: Building, Antenna, Span, Earth.  It also provides easy access to the developed canyon rim trail system. Several times we stopped and just took in the view from different areas near the bridge. It is absolutely amazing to stand up on top and look down at the valley and water below. One afternoon we actually saw a couple of people just as they jumped. It was awesome! Wasn’t able to get any pictures, but it was great.

Adjacent to the south end of the Perrine Bridge is a parking area with a visitors’ center, which allows for easy access to the bridge. To the east, along the south rim of the canyon, lies the dirt ramp used by Evel Knievel when he unsuccessfully attempted to jump the canyon. on his steam-powered “skycycle” in 1974. Knievel crashed on the jump because of a parachute malfunction; it opened right after his take-off. He survived the crash with only a broken nose. The ramp where he made the leap sits on private property about two miles east of the bridge and is visible from the bridge as well as various vantage points along the Canyon Trail.

Unless you are a local, you may not know that the bridge was originally named the Twin Falls-Jerome Intercounty Bridge. It was opened to traffic in September 1927, and at the time, was the highest bridge in the world. The privately financed $650,000 structure was originally a toll bridge but the tolls were eliminated in 1940 after the bridge was purchased by the state of Idaho. The bridge was rebuilt in 1970 and was given the name I. B. Perrine.  I.B.s is largely credited as the main founder of Twin Falls. It was first opened to traffic on July 31, 1976.  Thought it was a cool piece of history.

Twin Falls and Perrine Bridge Visitor Center Information

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