TOUR 7

The Grangeville to Red River Route

NOTE: WE WILL BE ADDING GRAPHICS, PHOTOS AND HOTLINKS FOR INFORMATION.

The highway from Grangeville to Red River follows the path of an 1891 wagon road that carried hopeful prospectors to gold deposits at Elk City and Dixie. The forested mountains have changed little since the early mining days and gold panning still lures people to the rivers and streams. Several backcountry roads lead to the threshold of three wilderness areas: the Gospel Hump, the Frank Church River of No Return and the Selway-Bitterroot. There are also numerous developed campgrounds along the main highway. 

Grangeville is the base of operations for the three-million-acre Nez Perce National Forest. A visit to the smokejumper center at the Grangeville Airport is both educational and enjoyable. Here you'll see the aircraft and equipment used by the Forest Service to combat backcountry wildfires. The headquarters of the Nez Perce National Forest has information and directions.

The Ray Holes Saddle Company, one of America's oldest saddle manufacturers, is another interesting stop. You're welcome to watch the saddlemakers ply their craft in the tradition of the old west. During the winter months, the Fish Creek Recreation Area offers a snowy playground within a few minutes of town. Snowmobilers will find a rustic warming shelter and one-hundred-fifty miles of packed trails. For cross-country skiers, ten miles of grooved trails wind through rolling forests and open meadows while downhill skiers traverse the gentle slopes nearby. Grangeville's Border Days is Idaho's oldest rodeo and features three days of western action during the first week of July. Grangeville's Winter Festival in February is highlighted with cross-country ski races, snowmobile events and snow-sculpture contests.

Leaving Grangeville, take Highway 13 east across the southern edge of the Camas Prairie. This fertile farmland takes its name from the blue-flowered camas, a traditional Nez Perce food. The nutritious bulbs are still dug each summer in tribal meadows. The highway soon descends almost two-thousand feet into the deep canyon of the Clearwater River's South Fork.

From this point, take Highway 14 upriver toward Elk City. Anglers will be happy to know that the South Fork is well stocked with rainbow and cutthroat trout throughout the fishing season. Steelhead return here each fall and winter as they complete their long journey from the Pacific Ocean. In midsummer, the many sand bars and rippling pools are excellent spots for swimming, tubing and lounging in the sun. You will soon come to the curious landmark known as Hanging Rock, a large outcropping which completely overhangs one lane of the highway. A blacksmith sharpened road-building tools under this rocky shelter in the 1920's and work crews left this monument in his honor. 

Just before you reach Elk City, you can take the Crooked River Road to the ghost town of Orogrande and the remote Buffalo Hump Mountains. The Buffalo Hump is a turn-of-the-century gold mining region perched among high lakes and rocky peaks, while Orogrande was a small supply town at the base of the mountain mines. Remnants of the old gold days are still found throughout the area. Crooked River Road is usually passable as far as Orogrande, but the high route to Buffalo Hump is often snowed in until early summer.

In 1861, Elk City became an exciting boom town when gold was discovered near the South Fork of the Clearwater. Today, however, you'll find another kind of excitement, some of America's finest elk hunting. Several outfitters and guides are waiting to help you plan an unforgettable experience. Many miles of backcountry roads around Elk City lead to wonderful behind-the-wheel adventures. Sweet and juicy huckleberries are a great incentive to take trips during July and August.

One popular drive is the scenic route to Selway Falls which gives you the opportunity to explore mountain and river country between Lolo Pass and Lewiston. 

Red River is south of Elk City on the Elk City-Dixie Road. The Red River Hot springs is a short distance from the highway on a good Forest Service road. Cabins, food and soothing hot mineral waters are a real treat.

The historic "Nez Perce Trail Road" begins near the Red River ranger station. For hundreds of years the Nez Perce followed this path from their Idaho homeland to buffalo hunting grounds in Montana. The U.S. Army scouted the trail in the 1850's as a possible wagon road, but not until the 1920's was a road constructed along this route. The dirt road is well maintained by the Forest Service during the summer months and in some places, you can still see portions of the original Indian horse trail etched into the terrain. The entire one-hundred-mile drive from Red River to Darby, Montana is a fantastic eight-hour journey through four-million acres of wilderness. Better make sure you have plenty of gas, though, since no services are available. This is the longest stretch of unpaved road without services in the western states.

A heavy mantle of snow beckons cross-country skiers and snowmobilers to the Elk City-Red River area from Thanksgiving until April. Skiers have several miles of trails near the Red River Ranger Station and snowmobilers have their choice of challenging cross-country routes of more than two-hundred miles of maintained trails. 

One of the most popular rides leads from Red River to the remote community of Dixie. Snowmobile races and other events are held throughout the winter in Elk City, Red River and Dixie.

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