Island Park, Idaho · 6,200 ft

Snow removal in
Last Chance

Last Chance is exposed. The stretch along the Henrys Fork has very little to slow a west wind, and driveways running perpendicular to it load fast. The highway stays open — that is the trap, because people assume an open highway means an open driveway.

High
Drift exposure rating
6,200FT
Approximate elevation
12FT+
Island Park average
annual snowfall
7MO
October through May

Getting in

How access works
in Last Chance

Last Chance strings along US-20 with driveways running perpendicular to the highway and to the prevailing wind. ITD maintains the highway all winter without exception.

Where it fails

This is the trap that catches people worst. The highway is open, so owners assume access is fine — then arrive to find the drive drifted shut between plowed banks that act like a snow fence.

What we run here

Open exposure means repeat visits rather than big ones. We run tighter dispatch here and check after wind events even when nothing has fallen.

Where the snow goes

Banks along the highway side rebuild themselves from blowing snow. We keep them low and set back deliberately, because a high bank here makes the next drift worse.

What we do here

On the Last Chance route

Every property in Last Chance is walked and staked in the fall, then run on the same season subscription as the rest of the caldera — dispatched on accumulation at your plan's threshold, or on drift-forming wind whether or not anything new fell.

Cabins & second homes

Driveway, parking pad and a path to the door. Drift checks after every wind event, timestamped photo each visit.

Vacation rentals

Cleared ahead of your check-in window on every turnover day, sequenced by arrival time, with confirmation pushed to your property manager.

Shared lanes & private roads

Loader and rotary blower capacity for late-season snow storage, run as a route with one invoice for the road association.

Routes fill
before first snow.

Capacity in Last Chance is finite and allocated in the order people sign. Thirty seconds now beats a phone call in January.

Last Chance

Common questions

Yes. Last Chance is inside our regular Island Park route — cabins, vacation rentals, shared lanes and private roads, all on season subscriptions.

Last Chance sits at roughly 6,200 ft in open river flats along US-20, which we rate as high drift exposure. This is the trap that catches people worst. The highway is open, so owners assume access is fine — then arrive to find the drive drifted shut between plowed banks that act like a snow fence.

Not necessarily, and this is the most common misunderstanding in the area. ITD maintains the highway continuously, but your driveway runs perpendicular to the wind and can drift completely shut while the highway beside it stays clear.

Call Drift Check