All IOCTA sponsored events, outings, and activities have no cost and are open to everyone. Please join us!
OCTA Calendar
Upcoming 2026 Events
April 18: Annual Byway Tour
Time: 8:45am
Location: On the Run Travel Center (Sinclair truck stop), Boise
This is a caravan tour of much of the Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway in which you will drive your own vehicle. We will stop at multiple sites along the route to walk in Oregon Trail ruts and learn about the history of the sites. The roads will be good county gravel roads so 4WD is not necessary.
A potluck lunch will be at the Sweetbriar Vineyard and Winery on Highway 20 north of Mountain Home. This lunch is always a lot of fun.
- The winery will provide hamburgers, hotdogs, and brats along with buns and condiments for $5 per person. Please give your money to the winery owners, Mike and Tamara.
- Please bring a side dish and/or dessert to share.
- Bring your own drinks and a lawn chair to sit outside on the back lawn.
- Wine will be available to sample and purchase.
Mountain Home area participants may join the group at the Pilot Truck Stop at Exit 95 of I-84 in Mountain Home at 9:45am.
The tour will begin from the Pilot Truck Stop at 10:00am and end about 4:00pm at Mayfield. People may leave early if needed.
May 21 & 22: Annual City of Rocks Activities
Time: 9:30am
Location: City of Rocks Visitor Center in Almo
We will be assisting four teams of archaeologists in searching California Trail camping areas with cadaver dogs and metal detectors. One team will consist of multiple cadaver dogs. Three teams will consist of multiple experts using metal detectors. Any artifacts found will be documented by the archaeologists and given to the City of Rocks for use in their displays.
Other items:
- Thursday evening is traditionally a group dinner at Morey’s Steak and Seafood in Burley.
- Friday evening is traditionally a group dinner at El Caporal Mexican Restaurant in Burley.
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Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Burley for 119.00 USD - 139.00 USD per night. Last day to book is Sunday, May 10, 2026. Visit IOCTA Group Rate 2026 for reservations. Please note the page might display “IOCTA Convention 2026” which is incorrect, but it is the correct page to use.
May 23: Spring Chapter Meeting
Time: 10:00am
Location: Perkins Restaurant, 800 N Overland Ave, Burley
We will have a short business meeting followed by a planning meeting for the 2027 OCTA convention in Burley. It is important for as many members as possible to attend the meeting because there is a lot of work to be done for the convention. We will attempt to host the meeting on Zoom for those people who are unable to attend in person. The Zoom link will be available closer to the meeting date.
Recent Events
February 18 & 25, March 5: Boise Schools Community Education class
March 9: Birch Creek Cleanup
TA Travel Center Truck Stop, Huntington, Oregon. The BLM asked for our assistance in cleaning up garbage which was dumped at the Birch Creek interpretive site in eastern Oregon.
February 26: Boise Schools Community Education class
Oregon Trail Wyoming to Fort Hall
March 5: Boise Schools Community Education class
Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway
March 12: Boise Schools Community Education class
North Alternate Oregon Trail
April 19: Annual Byway Tour
This is a caravan tour where everyone drives their own vehicle. We will follow the Oregon Trail from east of Mountain Home to Mayfield.
May 15-17: Annual City of Rocks Activities and Spring Meeting
June 21: Annual Model A Tour
The Model A car club tour was so fun last year that the club has requested it be an annual event. It is very interesting to see a dozen antique cars traveling the path of the emigrants.
August 9: Three Island Crossing State Park event
Three Island Crossing State Park had a celebration with an America250 theme and also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Oregon Trail History Center. Paul Dinwiddie, IOCTA Vice-President, spoke at the event.
August 23: Special Jeffreys-Goodale Route access
We worked with Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve to see parts of the Jeffreys-Goodale Route that are normally closed.
August 23: Murder/Mystery Dinner
The Idaho State Historical Society hosted a murder/mystery dinner at Stricker Ranch. Details can be found on the ISHS website at history.idaho.gov/event/stricker-western.
September 20: North Alternate Oregon Trail tour
This is one of the least-known routes in Idaho, but it is the deadliest route in the state.
October 25: Fall chapter meeting
This meeting was in Boise at the Idaho Pizza Company restaurant.
October 12: Fall chapter meeting
Idaho Pizza Company at Overland and Orchard in Boise.
July 21-27: 2024 National Convention
Pendleton, OR
June 28: Cadaver dog grave verification
Jerry Eichhorst led a tour to several emigrant graves north of Mountain Home. A suspected new grave was discovered on the byway tour earlier this year.
June 27: Cadaver dog search for lost grave
Jerry Eichhorst led a tour on the California Trail byway to Goose Creek.
June 26: Drive over Granite Pass
James Dayley led a tour over Granite Pass on the California Trail.
June 1: Model A Car Club Oregon Trail Tour
Jerry Eichhorst will lead a tour of a Model A car club on the Oregon Trail from Bonneville Point to Canyon Creek. Details are available here.
May 16-17: Annual City of Rocks activities
Click here for more information.
May 18: Spring chapter meeting
Burley, ID
April 27: Annual byway tour
Click here for the flyer.
March 13-17: Fall chapter meeting
2024 National Symposium in El Paso, TX.
February-March: Community education classes
Boise, ID. More information is available at BoiseLearns.org
October 14: Fall chapter meeting
The fall chapter meeting will be held at 11:15 am at the Idaho Pizza Company restaurant at Overland and Orchard in Boise. The guest speaker will be John Hiler, Mountain Home area historian.
September 30: Lander Road outing
We will follow the Lander Road on Forest Service and other roads from the Wyoming border to the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. This is a trek that the chapter might not have done before. It will likely require spending Friday night in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Soda Springs, or Star Valley, Wyoming, in order to start early in the morning (about 9:00 am). The details and meeting location have not been finalized at this time.
September 25: BSU OSHER Class
Jerry Eichhorst will be teaching a class on the Oregon Trail in Idaho for the BSU OSHER program. If you are a member of OSHER you may have seen this course in their catalog. Contact BSU OSHER for more information. These classes usually sell out within a few days.
August 27: Byway Video outing
The OCTA video master, Richard Hunt, and Jerry Eichhorst will be filming a video of the Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway. Other members are welcome to follow along if you want to see the entire byway or observe the video creation process.
August 26: Ground penetrating radar outing
A month ago, two cadaver dogs showed strong positive indications of human burials on a small knoll beside the location of a suspected massacre of a wagon train. GPR will be used to scan the top of the knoll to determine if something is indeed buried there.
2023 Convention: Gehring, NE
May 18-20: City of Rocks activities and spring chapter meeting
The annual spring outings with City of Rocks are tentatively scheduled for Thursday and Friday, May 18 and 19, with the spring chapter meeting on Saturday, May 20. Additional details will be available soon. We will be trying to get a reduced rate at the Fairfield Inn in Burley.
April 15: Annual spring byway tour with potluck lunch at Springbriar Winery
We will meet at 8:45am between the McDonalds and the Albertsons at Federal Way and Gowen Road. Then we'll caravan from east of Mountain Home to Boise along the Oregon Trail. Lunch at Sweetbrair Winery - $5 per person for burgers and brats. For the potluck, bring a side dish and/or dessert to share. Also bring your own water and drinks, a camera, warm clothing, etc.
March 1, 8, 15: Boise Community Education courses on the Oregon Trail in Idaho
More information is available here.
Cadaver Video
Check out the video from last May when we had a cadaver dog outing to verify some suspected emigrant graves near Durkee, Oregon.