Paris, ID

Serving as the county seat of Bear Lake County, Paris sits quietly on the western side of the high valley. Founded by pioneers in the 1860s, the town keeps a strong connection to its farming and ranching roots. Its most prominent landmark is the Romanesque red sandstone tabernacle on Main Street, completed in the late 1880s with stone hauled straight from the local canyons.

ATTRTricia Simpson / CC BY-SA 3.0

Life here moves at an unhurried, small-town pace, with regional history preserved down the road at the Paris Museum. The community turns out in full force around the Fourth of July for a classic chuckwagon breakfast, parade, craft fair, and the Bear Lake Junior Rodeo. With local government offices, churches, and peaceful residential streets framed by open fields and mountain foothills, Paris provides a quiet rural home just minutes from Bear Lake.