Elevation: 3,211 ft
Prominence: 124
This butte is not in the book. Published October 2025
Little Joe Butte is a rocky outcrop that is located in the Snake River Birds of Prey Area but is within the Idaho National Guard Training and Maneuver Area. It is a drive-up but requires permission from the National Guard Commander to access it. USGS Little Joe Butte
The antenna-clad summit hump of Little Joe Butte. Livingston Douglas Photo
Access
From ID-167 south of Mountain Home, turn north onto [signed] paved Simco Road (a 50MPH highway) at virtual MM10.0 (the actual MM is 50 yards east of the road junction). Drive 8.3 miles north on Simco Road to an unsigned junction with a BLM road that goes through National Guard military practice areas. This junction is at virtual MM12.2. Reset your odometer at this junction. Go through a green cattle gate at Simco Road and, later, through a tightly-strung wire cattle gate. At 2.7 miles, reach a “T” junction with a well-maintained road. Go right/northwest on this good gravel road and drive 0.5 miles to a junction with a service road just below Little Joe Butte.
East Face, Class 1
The Climb
Drive 0.4 miles up the gravel service road to the rocky, antenna-clad summit area. Scramble a short distance up onto the summit boulders and find the USGS “Trap” benchmark on top.
The summit rocks atop Little Joe Butte. Livingston Douglas Photo
The USGS benchmark (“Trap”) atop Little Joe Butte. Livingston Douglas Photo
Additional Resources