See gorgeous mountains, deserts, ghost towns, hot springs, Bighorn Sheep, deep river gorges, and learn about the historical takeover of Indian lands, trapping, and mining.
This is a gorgeous route, encompassing deserts, river valleys, and mountains. It also touches on historical themes like Indian conflicts, mining, exploration, trapping, and settlement. The5-hour, 196-mile cruise, accessible spring through fall, starts at Stanley, on the floor of the Stanley Basin, with spectacular scenes of Idaho’s largest peaks, the Sawtooth Ridge. The Stanley Museum, situated in a historic ranger station on Route 75, provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s past.
Following the Salmon River, as you drive on, the road leads into a forested gorge with granite outcroppings. At this point, the river drops 15 feet per mile, tumbling over turbulent rapids and a number of hot springs pools. Read more . . .
This 101-mile, 2-hour drive is only accessible spring through fall, and bends through forested mountains in Idaho’s panhandle, skirting the shoreline of Lake Coeur d’Alene and over the hills to Potlatch. East of Coeur d’Alene, get off I-90 at the Route 97 Exit and go south. The path hugs Wolf Lodge Bay, an arm of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Here, fall salmon runs draw about 60 Bald Eagles to the Bay daily.