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Places We Protect

Silver Creek Preserve

Idaho

Silver Creek meanders through green fields with mountains in the distance.
Silver Creek Preserve The creek under a cloudy sky. © Steve Dondero

A unique spring creek with abundant wildlife, Silver Creek is one of the most spectacular natural places in Idaho.

Notice: All visitors must sign in electronically prior to entering the preserve.

Viewing

Overview

Description

Gliding across the water, settled into the seat of a canoe, it’s not hard to understand why years of work and collaboration have been dedicated to protecting Silver Creek—it is a magicalplace.

For 50 years, The Nature Conservancy has worked alongside the local community to conserve the freshwater streams, wildlife habitat and working lands of the Silver Creek watershed. It started in 1976 when the local community urged TNC to purchase a 479-acre property that would become the Silver Creek Preserve. This launched one of the most successful landowner conservation efforts ever undertaken for public benefit and a powerful model for community-based stewardship.

Over the last five decades, TNC Idaho has expanded the preserve to 882 acres. And more than 15,000 acres across the watershed have also been protected, many through conservation easements. Together, these protected lands safeguard not only the creek itself, but the complex ecological system that sustains it.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Please note: Dogs are not allowed on the preserve.

Hours

Dawn to dusk year-round; fishing open Memorial Day weekend to November 30. Conservation and Education Center hours listed under visit tab.

Highlights

Hiking, birding, fishing (summer), photography, canoeing, snowshoeing (winter)

Explore our work in Idaho

Aerial view of Silver Creek Preserve with an island in the creek.
Silver Creek Preserve Aerial image. © Chip Carroon

Silver Creek’s Water

What makes this stream special has much to do with its natural setting and the source of the water. The creek is a highly unusual example of a large, high-desert, spring-fed ecosystem. Water from the surrounding hills and the nearby Big Wood River seeps underground and gradually percolates south through an aquifer until it approaches the foot of the Picabo Hills. The water is then forced upward into numerous springheads that feed Silver Creek’s seven large tributaries. The water that emerges is alkaline, nutrient rich and at a near-constant temperature year-round.

The result is a unique aquatic ecosystem that sustains a high density of insects, a renowned wild trout fishery and wildlife that are drawn in from near and far. Eagles soar overhead. Moose wade through the shallows. Bobcats, coyotes and more than 150 species of birds find food and shelter along the creek and its riparian corridors.

TNC and our partners have worked together to expand restoration efforts across the Silver Creek watershed and its fishery. We have developed science-based restoration projects in the system to restore stream function, enhance aquatic habitats and expand riparian buffers. Projects include improvements to channel conditions, hydrologic functions, fish habitat complexity, riparian buffers and floodplain connectivity.

Our latest conservation efforts, including work at Loving Creek and on the 1,461-acre property TNC acquired in 2025 adjacent to the preserve, remind us that restoration is not achieved by any single project but by the steady, collective care of a community that refuses to take this place for granted. As we celebrate five decades of stewardship at Silver Creek, we are reminded that conservation is ultimately a relationship—one built on responsibility, reciprocity and a shared commitment to care for this place, now and into the future.

Explore Silver Creek

Owl Take a walk along the self-guided nature trail and you are bound to spot one of the 150 species of birds that have been identified on the preserve. © John Finnell
Silver Creek In 1976 a handful of inspired individuals supported the purchase of 470 acres of what is now Silver Creek Preserve. Since then, the preserve has grown by 850 acres. © Harold E. Malde
Moose at Silver Creek The preserve is known for epic fishing grounds but it is also a sanctuary for a diversity of wildlife including moose, elk, and sandhill cranes. © John Finnell
Sunset at Silver Creek The legendary light and rich palette of colors on display across the landscape attracts photographers and artists from around the world. © Steve Dondero
Elusive trout Silver Creek is a world-class fishery. However, these elusive trophy trout—always feeding but rarely paying attention to your fly—demand a patient and dedicated angler. © Hamilton Wallace
silver creek preserve stalker foot bridge Stalker foot bridge connects the wetlands and trails at the Silver Creek Preserve. © Hamilton Wallace/The Nature Conservancy
Floating down Silver Creek Fishing the legendary stream, a hike filled with bird watching, or a canoe float down the creek; whatever your reason for visiting, this special place will be worth the trip. © Steve Dondero

Resources

Preserve History

In no small part, the wonder of Silver Creek’s story comes from the people who came together to make it a reality. When TNC acquired the original Sun Valley Ranch property in 1976, the organization’s Idaho chapter was in its infancy and the thought of raising the funds for the purchase—even at a generous bargain price—was daunting. Yet with determination, collaboration and the support of a community that recognized Silver Creek’s value, the purchase was made and a vision took root.

At the time, the creek itself was under tremendous strain. Years of overgrazing had weakened streambanks, unmanaged access had accelerated erosion and unrestricted fishing pressure had reduced fish populations. Where others might have seen an insurmountable challenge, TNC saw opportunity.

Old wooden fence with cabin in background.
Silver Creek Welcome The Conservation and Education Center replaced the old visitor center (pictured). © Tim Tower

Over the last five decades, TNC has helped to improve the health of the stream. But the real impact is much broader. Protecting the stream alone isn’t enough. Stewarding the waters that run through the preserve means ensuring that the watershed—the land and waters surrounding it, from which runoff feeds the stream—are also healthy and not leading to sedimentation and pollution of Silver Creek itself. That's why TNC collaborates with partners, landowners and individuals to find lasting solutions to our conservation challenges throughout the landscape.

In 2025, TNC had a unique opportunity to expand our care and impact in this region with the purchase of a 1,461-acre property adjacent to Silver Creek Preserve. The property includes sections of four tributaries to Silver Creek, providing vital freshwater connectivity and habitat for moose, bobcats, birds, native trout and the insects they depend on. This acquisition not only builds on TNC’s legacy of protecting the Silver Creek system—it also strengthens essential connections between public and private lands.

Our work to improve and maintain this marvelous place will continue into the future, but we’ve come a long way since the purchase of those first 479 acres. Today, Silver Creek Preserve is a center of pride for both TNC and the community that has embraced the preserve as its own.

Silver Creek Enhancement Plan

Responding to a convergence of threats and opportunities, The Nature Conservancy in Idaho developed the Silver Creek Enhancement Plan, a project designed to enhance the visitor experience, broaden community opportunities and restore the creek’s unique ecosystem.

Thanks to the collaborative effort of the community and our visionary supporters, we have made tremendous progress on the Silver Creek enhancement. Infrastructure upgrades have improved the visitor experience, we welcomed our first full-time conservation education coordinator and we’ve completed critical habitat restoration.

A Place for People and Nature

Designed with the community in mind, the Silver Creek Enhancement Plan imagines a revitalized Silver Creek that provides benefits for both people and nature.

Visitor Experience

TNC seeks to provide an opportunity for all visitors to experience the benefits of Silver Creek Preserve. Improvements to facilities at Silver Creek will ensure the Preserve remains a beloved community resource and an inspiration for community-based conservation.

Construction of the Conservation and Education Center was completed in 2022. The building features a classroom facility, outdoor amphitheater for educational use and other essential upgrades that have increased visitor accessibility and safety.

Thirty designated fishing ramps have been installed to provide easier and safer stream access and enable visitors to take full advantage of Silver Creek’s renowned fishing opportunities while conserving its natural resources and habitats.

We are now working with partners, education specialists and Tribal and community members to reimagine interpretive signage, improve trails and enhance accessibility across the Preserve.

Education and Outreach

Core to TNC’s vision for Silver Creek is the idea that it can be a place of exploration and learning for all ages. Through both educational experiences and volunteer opportunities for service to nature, we seek to develop emotional and social values that lead to deep personal commitments to conservation.

In 2025, TNC welcomed our first full-time conservation education coordinator. This role is essential in our effort to expand outreach and educational programs, and be a catalyst for empowering youth and community members to drive science-based solutions for challenges such as climate change, air and water pollution, environmental degradation, human health and quality of life.

Resource Conservation and Restoration

The Silver Creek Watershed is a model for sustained rural conservation and community-engaged science and restoration. Restoration projects across the Preserve have been designed to restore stream function, enhance aquatic habitats and secure water supplies.

TNC completed a major restoration project along Stalker Creek and Lower Chaney Creek at Silver Creek Preserve. The project restored 1.1 miles of stream channel, improved 50 acres of wildlife habitat, enhanced and constructed two acres of wetland, rehabilitated a side channel and restored eight acres of fallowed lands into native meadow. 

A wide and shallow section of Stalker Creek has also been restored to a healthy, winding creek with diverse habitats―undoing decades of erosion in a priority area of the watershed on Silver Creek Preserve. 

Long-term outcomes of these efforts will benefit the entire watershed with better streamflow and habitat conditions for fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, as well as improve the overall resiliency of the Preserve in the face of climate change. 

Click to learn about what is happening RETURN
View of creedk with educationa center in the background on a hill. Visitor Experience Education and Outreach Resource Conservation and Restoration

This is only the beginning. Our commitment to the ongoing stewardship of Silver Creek is unwavering. In the years ahead we will continue to build on Silver Creek’s legacy as a model for how to solve Idaho’s toughest conservation challenges through innovation and community engagement.

Building on five decades of conservation history at Silver Creek, TNC is enhancing the preserve and creating a place where the public can experience firsthand the benefits of intact natural areas—to learn from it, be inspired by it and enjoy it. We invite you to partner with us to build a brighter future for conservation in Idaho.

Silver Creek Watershed

The water that flows into Silver Creek Preserve may originate in a series of springs, but the path it takes before it reaches Silver Creek is a complicated one. The Nature Conservancy recognizes that in order to keep Silver Creek’s aquatic ecosystem healthy, we must consider the health of the entire watershed.

The health of the Silver Creek watershed and its aquatic ecosystem are dependent on water quantity and quality. Changes in water availability and water-use practices in the Wood River system have impacted the Big Wood River and its aquifer, which, as the primary water source for Silver Creek, has affected stream flows and increased water temperatures. In addition, land use practices have affected the integrity and effectiveness of riparian buffer zones, sediment loads and water quality in Silver Creek and its tributaries.

Our goals are to sustain adequate year-round stream flows in the Silver Creek system to improve water quality for wild trout and other aquatic species and to build greater resiliency to drought, heat and the effects of a changing climate.

That's why TNC collaborates with partners, landowners and individuals to find lasting solutions to our conservation challenges throughout the landscape. Working together, we can achieve a bright future for this special waterway—a creek like none other in the world.

In the Field

In partnership with the Silver Creek Alliance, we completed a geomorphic assessment of the entire Silver Creek watershed in 2020. The report synthesizes and builds upon all the aquatic and riparian studies completed for Silver Creek and its tributaries to date. It also identifies high-priority needs and opportunities for restoration to benefit Silver Creek’s wild trout fishery.

With a holistic approach to understanding ecological issues and strategies for restoration throughout the system, TNC Idaho and our partners have more restoration projects underway. These projects are restoring stream function, enhancing aquatic habitats and expanding riparian buffers to improve water quality.

This work includes:

  • Restoring stream channel and floodplain complexity.
  • Increasing stream habitat connectivity and improving fish passage.
  • Continuing restoration and monitoring of the water and wildlife of Silver Creek Preserve.
A man with a shovel stands in a large grassy field at the edge of a narrow creek.
© Dayna Gross/TNC

TNC thanks our partners that make this work possible:

Silver Creek Alliance ● Idaho Department of Fish and Game ● Idaho Department of Environmental Quality ● Trout Unlimited ● U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program ● Bureau of Reclamation ● USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service ● Local landowners

Brown trout held by angler in water.
Elusive trout Silver Creek is a world-class fishery. However, these elusive trophy trout—always feeding but rarely paying attention to your fly—demand a patient and dedicated angler. © Hamilton Wallace

Maybe it will be a trophy trout that draws you to Silver Creek; always feeding but never interested in your fly. Maybe you’ll come to hear the gurgling cry of the sandhill cranes as they return in the spring or the flocks of waterfowl honking overhead on their fall migration. Or perhaps you’ll make the trip to see that legendary, glorious light: A light that seems designed by a photographer, or an artist, with its rich pastel of purples, reds, yellows and blues. Whatever the reason, we know your heart will be captured by this special place in Idaho’s high desert.

The stream’s cold water, gentle flow and gravel bottom create ideal conditions for stream insects and a profusion of aquatic plants. No wonder it is one of the nation’s premiere blue-ribbon trout streams! Its feeder streams also support streamside (riparian) forests and wetlands that are havens for wildlife. Moose frequently browse and wade along the stream, an incongruous sight in the high desert miles from the nearest pine woods. The forest also supports foxes, mule deer, elk, coyotes and other mammals. The diverse habitats of open fields, wetlands and riparian forest, as well as the abundant insect population, draw 150 species of birds.

Each year, visitors from all 50 states and more than a dozen countries visit the preserve. The fly fishing is legendary, of course, but the preserve offers many other outdoor activities.

Conservation and Education Center Hours
The CEC is closed on Mondays.
Note: The preserve itself is open dawn to dusk year-round; fishing open Memorial Day weekend to November 30.
Saturday-Sunday Tuesday-Friday
Mid-May 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Closed
Memorial Day Weekend - Labor Day 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
After Labor Day - Mid October 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Mid October - End of November 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Closed
December - April Closed Closed

Resources


Audio Tour Information

A free audio tour of Silver Creek Preserve, narrated by Mariel Hemingway, is available. Whether you are a first-time visitor or have been to the preserve many times, you will learn something new about this unique place!

From mayflies to Ernest Hemingway, this tour includes stories and fun facts about one of our favorite places. No wireless or cellular service is needed to take the tour.

Before You visit:

  • Download the free TravelStorys app to your smartphone or tablet.
  • Open the app on your device and search for Silver Creek Preserve.
  • Download this tour to your device.

At the preserve:

  • Enable your device’s GPS/location function.
  • Open the app on your device.
  • No need to click play—the audio will automatically play at selected points along the route. Be sure to pause to let each story play fully.

Explore Silver Creek

Owl Take a walk along the self-guided nature trail and you are bound to spot one of the 150 species of birds that have been identified on the preserve. © John Finnell
Silver Creek In 1976 a handful of inspired individuals supported the purchase of 470 acres of what is now Silver Creek Preserve. Since then, the preserve has grown by 850 acres. © Harold E. Malde
Moose at Silver Creek The preserve is known for epic fishing grounds but it is also a sanctuary for a diversity of wildlife including moose, elk, and sandhill cranes. © John Finnell
Sunset at Silver Creek The legendary light and rich palette of colors on display across the landscape attracts photographers and artists from around the world. © Steve Dondero
Elusive trout Silver Creek is a world-class fishery. However, these elusive trophy trout—always feeding but rarely paying attention to your fly—demand a patient and dedicated angler. © Hamilton Wallace
silver creek preserve stalker foot bridge Stalker foot bridge connects the wetlands and trails at the Silver Creek Preserve. © Hamilton Wallace/The Nature Conservancy
Floating down Silver Creek Fishing the legendary stream, a hike filled with bird watching, or a canoe float down the creek; whatever your reason for visiting, this special place will be worth the trip. © Steve Dondero

Your Chance to Give Back

We are working in the Silver Creek Watershed to fully restore the unique aquatic ecosystem, safeguard the creek’s water supply, sustain its wild trout fishery and provide refuge for an abundance of wildlife. You can help us realize this vision.

Donate Now