OAKLAND, CA – The VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA) will begin interring Veterans, spouses and eligible children at Snake River Canyon National Cemetery starting Mar. 30, 2020.
Snake River Canyon National Cemetery is the first national cemetery in Idaho. The VA recently completed construction the first phase on the 8-acre cemetery, located at 1585 East Elm St. (E 4150 N), Buhl, ID 83316. The new cemetery has space available to accommodate approximately 2,300 casket burials, 2,300 in-ground cremation burials, and 2,170 urn placements in columbarium niches.
“This cemetery will serve the burial needs of more than 15,000 Veterans, their spouses and eligible children within a 75-mile radius of Twin Falls County,” said Pete Sardo, cemetery director for
Willamette, Snake River Canyon and Vancouver Barracks National Cemeteries. “Scheduling is easy – families or the funeral director just need to fax or email all discharge documents to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office and follow up with a phone call.”
Snake River Canyon National Cemetery is part of the NCA’s Rural Initiative to provide access to VA burial benefits for Veterans who reside in rural areas and who have not previously had reasonable access to a national or state Veterans cemetery. The nearest Veterans cemetery is Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise, which is located 131 miles away.
The VA is inviting Veterans, family members and the public to visit their new national cemetery. On Sat., April 25, the VA will host a dedication ceremony at Snake River Canyon National Cemetery. The ceremony starts at 11 a.m.
For more information about Snake River Canyon National Cemetery, contact Director Pete Sardo at (503) 273-5250. To make burial arrangements at Snake River Canyon National Cemetery, or at any VA national cemetery, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at (800) 535-1117, or go www.va.gov/burials- memorials.

About NCA
VA operates 142 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 41 states and Puerto Rico. More than 4 million Americans, including Veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA’s national cemeteries. VA also provides funding to establish, expand, improve, and maintain 115 Veterans cemeteries in 47 states and territories including tribal trust lands, Guam, and Saipan. For Veterans not buried in a VA national cemetery, VA provides headstones, markers or medallions to commemorate their service. Information on VA burial benefits is available from local VA national cemetery offices, online at https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/ or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000.