Final Days for Public Tours of New Washington Street Landmark
Paris, ID · September 23, 2026
Overcast skies are keeping the valley cool today as the final week of public tours gets underway up the highway. Keep a warm layer in the car if you are out running errands across the valley before lunch.
The Lead
The public open house for the Montpelier Idaho Temple enters its final four days this morning, giving valley residents a closing window to tour the interior before the building is formally dedicated. Standing along Washington Street, the new structure has drawn steady crowds from across Bear Lake, Rich, and Caribou counties since doors opened two weeks ago.
For local neighbors, the walk-through offers a rare chance to see how regional heritage influenced the craftsmanship. Designers incorporated stylized wild chicory blossoms—a familiar late-summer sight along Bear Lake ditch banks—into the carved woodwork and art glass, paired with blues and greens that echo the lake’s shoreline. The open house remains free and open to all visitors without reservations through Saturday evening. Once the final tour concludes at 8:00 PM Saturday, the building closes to the general public ahead of the formal October 18 dedication.
Today's Outlook
- High 68°F · Low 43°F — Overcast
- Grab a light sweater for the overcast afternoon as temperatures top out near 68°F.
What's On Around Town
Today
- Preschool Story Hour Bear Lake County Library (138 N 6th St), Montpelier, 11:00 AM · Free Stories and early literacy crafts for young readers and parents.
Tomorrow
- Bear Lake Parade of Homes Bear Lake Valley Chamber, Garden City, 2:00–8:00 PM · Paid
Friday
- Bear Lake Bears vs. Rich High Football Bear Lake High School (330 Boise St), Montpelier, 7:00 PM · Paid
- The Ghost of Dead Man's Creek Opening Night Pickleville Playhouse (2048 S Bear Lake Blvd), Garden City, 7:00 PM · Paid
Spotlight & Story
- Paris Spring
- Tucked four miles up Paris Canyon along a quiet 300-yard trail, Paris Spring gushes directly out of fractured limestone at an unvarying 42 degrees. While many assume lower Paris Creek trickles down from mountain snowmelt, its volume surges almost entirely from this cavern vent.
Paris Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
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