Challis Idaho Map

About Challis, Idaho

Challis is a locality in Custer County, Idaho, United States. It is a small community with a population of 902. The population density is 176.5 people per km². Challis is located at 44.5046°N, 114.2317°W. It observes the Mountain Time (America/Boise) timezone. Challis is an incorporated locality. ZIP code: 83226.

Challis emerges from the high desert floor as a collection of low, sun-bleached facades held fast against the vast, dry expanse of the interior. It lies 115.6 miles east-northeast of Boise, ID (from Boise, ID: bearing 57°T), and is situated 57.3 miles north of Ketchum. Garden Creek carves a thin, vital ribbon of green through the arid sagebrush as it moves toward the riverbed, providing a sharp contrast to the muted ochre and gray of the surrounding plains. To the west, the jagged, distant silhouettes of the Sawtooth Range sharpen against the pale blue sky, their frozen heights watching over the valley floors of John Gulch. The air here holds a brittle, crystalline quality that magnifies the silence, leaving the landscape feeling stripped of pretense and entirely exposed to the wide, unrelenting sun.

Challis persists as a place forged by the stubborn labor of extraction, where the rhythm of daily life remains tethered to the mineral wealth and ranching heritage of the surrounding territory. The local economy finds its footing in the rugged work of the land, supported by the stewardship of the Idaho Department of Lands, which manages the expansive, austere acreage that defines the perimeter of the settlement. Those who reside here possess a quiet, tempered endurance, mirrored in the weathered wood of historic structures and the sparse, deliberate pace of the streets. Beyond the town limits, the stillness of Slab Barn Lake remains undisturbed by the modern world, offering a brief, reflective pause in a region defined by the slow, grinding work of wind and time.

About This Challis Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Challis, Idaho. Coordinates: 44.504644, -114.231731. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Challis includes the ZIP code (83226), telephone area code (208), county seat of Custer County (Challis), and school district assignment (Challis Joint School District 181).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.