Sierra Nevada Adventures Out Of State Rides

IDAHO BDR GLACIER ADVENTURE RIDE 6-Days

Idaho BDR Glacier ADVENTURE ride EXPLORES the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route (IDBDR) from Mountain Home Idaho north to Glacier National Park Montana. SNA has customized this six-day adventure ride to explore amazing off-road routes such as the historic 101-mile Magruder Corridor along the IDBDR including the spectacular Going-to-the-Sun Road on this epic ADVENTURE ride!   

The IDBDR Glacier ADVENTURE ride explores a true off-the-grid ride throughout some of Idaho’s best mountain terrain imaginable, including Glacier National Park Montana. Your epic dual sport adventure ride begins at Mountain Home Idaho and travels north on the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route. In the early 1800’s this region was touted by the historic journey of Lewis and Clack, fur trappers and explorers. Fur trappers found animals in abundance and the fur trade industry took over the region. Later, in the 1840’s settlers passed through on their way to California and Oregon, following trails along the Snake River. As time continued to pass, travelers became settlers and they began mining the land for silver, and lead quartz.

From Mountain Home, your adventure travels north through the scenic Boise National Forest where you will venture back in time as you travel through the Queen of the Boise Basin from the Idaho Gold Rush. When gold was discovered in 1862, Idaho City was built nearly instantly. Originally known as Bannock, Idaho City became one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest. Its population quickly swelled to approximately 7,000 with an estimated 25,000 individuals residing nearby. During its boom in the mid-1860’s, it was a lively town of miners and quick-drawing men, including three dozen saloons that provided whiskey and prostitutes to entertain the miners. The population grew rapidly as gold was found in the nearby Boise Basin (over $250,000,000 of gold ended up being discovered in this mountain region), Thousands of prospectors flooded the tiny mountain town and made it a booming success. Its population soon exceeded that of Portland, Oregon, and it became the largest city in the Northwest. Today this once thriving gold rush town is now a sleepy mountain town with historic brick buildings to be seen by those who seek adventure!    

Beyond the Queen of the Boise Basin, your off-road adventure traverses north along the scenic Clear Creek Canyon below the rugged Deadwood Ridge and deep into the mountains, that was once a bustling mining area during the Idaho Gold Rush. Before long, your off-road adventure climbs a series of switchbacks up and out of the canyon and over a gap between Deadwood Ridge and Whitehawk Mountain to the north. From the top of the gap, panoramic views open across the mountains and beyond as the canyon tapers off in the distance. Beyond the gap, your off-road adventure continues through the forest, past mountain lakes and alpine meadows in the middle of nowhere. Eventually, your journey reaches a small cluster of cabins in the forest known as Deadwood. This remote family-owned camp provides guided hunting, fishing,g and horseback trips into the Idaho wilderness. Beyond Deadwood, your off-road adventure continues north to Summit Lake then descends a scenic canyon into the small town of Cascade Idaho.

From Cascade, your journey travels up a scenic canyon road to the top of the ridge, then your off-road adventure begins as you venture north into the mountains for your second day of off-road adventure. Your journey continues through the forest and mountains along Johnson Creek and beyond to a remote mining town in the middle of nowhere. Yellow Pine is a 247-acre community on the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River, surrounded by national forest and 70 miles from the nearest town. Yellow Pine's history is as rich as the nearby Stibnite and Thunder Mountain mining districts and a fascinating view into the experience of turn-of-the-20th-century pioneers who were drawn to the remote mountains of the American West. Most of the early inhabitants of these rugged mountains were mineral prospectors; most of them, unsurprisingly, were men who worked the land for gold and silver and explored the wild frontier. The historic community of Yellow Pine is truly one of the last remnants of the western wilderness. From Yellow Pine, your off-road adventure continues through rugged and remote mountains then along the Salmon River, also known as the “River of No Return” and beyond to Grangeville Idaho.   

From Grangeville, your journey travels along the wild and scenic South Fork Clearwater River to the oldest mining town in Idaho Country. The story of Elk City goes that fifty-two miners left the Orofino district in May 1861 to explore the upper waters of the South Fork of the Clearwater River. This was rugged, uncharted territory traversed only by an ancient trail, known exclusively to the Nee-Me- Poo (Nez Perce People). The trail was the Nez Perce’s route from present-day Salmon City to the northern Camas Prairie. Overlooked by the Lewis & Clark Corp of Discovery, no record of this trail had been recorded. The miners from Pierce continued on, following a stream to where the present-day town of Stites now is. Six miles farther on, they found themselves on a wooded plateau; the site of Chief Looking Glass’s village. They were not met with a warm reception, Chief Cool-cool-snee-nee objected to their advancement and told them they needed to refer to the treaty which excluded white men from the south side of the Clearwater River. Thirty turned back at that point. Twenty-two ignored the Chief’s warnings and proceeded onward. After approximately 22 miles of travel, they came to a high, flat valley or prairie which they promptly called Elk Valley. The whole flat was watered by springs and covered with rich grass. The soil they found was filled with shot gold running as high as twenty-five cents to the pan.

Beyond the historic Elk City, your off-road adventure begins on the historic Magruder Corridor Trail that winds through a vast undeveloped wilderness. Today, the Magruder Corridor has become a backcountry road, connecting Elk City, Idaho to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana, (just south of Darby, Montana). As your journey descends from the backcountry mountains into the beautiful Bitterroot Valley, you will find yourself traveling along the Bitterroot River and past the historic Chief Joseph Ranch better known as the “Yellowstone Dutton Ranch”. This historic landmark in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley was utilized as the western backdrop for Paramount Network’s Original Series “Yellowstone”, as well as a guest ranch, and family-owned, working ranch. The Magruder Corridor Road is named after Lloyd Magruder, a packer who was murdered in 1863 while traveling along the route. The Magruder Corridor spans 101-miles between the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south. This makes for a stunning scenic ride as you make your way across the historic Magruder Corridor. Along the way, you will encounter several viewpoints of this vast wilderness and historic landmarks that make for an incredible adventure!

The Magruder Corridor Road follows closely along the original route of the Southern Nez Perce Trail, crossing from the Clearwater Basin in Idaho to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. The landscape here is much the same as when the Nez Perce Tribe and other early travelers passed through the area, and the Magruder Corridor Road has changed little since it was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Gold was discovered near Elk City, Idaho in 1861 and Virginia City, Montana, not long thereafter. Many miners and traders traveled the Southern Nez Perce Trail as the most direct route from Lewiston, Idaho to Virginia City. In 1863, Lloyd Magruder and companions were returning along this route to Lewiston from Virginia City, after making a handsome profit of gold dust by selling goods to miners. After making camp near the Selway River just days into the return trip, three men that had accompanied Magruder from Lewiston months before, treacherously murdered and robbed Magruder and his men in the dark of night. The murderers hid the evidence of their wicked crime and fled to San Francisco with the stolen gold. Hill Beachey, a friend of Magruder, pursued the murderers and brought them to Lewiston to stand trial. The three men, being found guilty, were hanged on the 4th of March 1864. Beyond the Magruder Corridor Road, your journey travels north to Missoula Montana for a well-deserved night stay before continuing to Glacier National Park. 

Beyond Missoula, your journey travels further north past Flathead Lake to the amazing Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. Going-to-the-Sun Road is often called “America’s Switzerland” and is known as one of the most scenic mountain roads in the United States. The spectacular 50-mile mountain road travels through incredibly varied terrain, including impressive glacier lakes, cascading waterfalls and towering mountains in all directions as it crosses the Continental Divide at beautiful Logan Pass. Going-to-the-Sun Road, also known as Glacier Route 1 Road, is notable as one of the first National Park Service projects specifically intended to create a unique mountain experience for automobile tourists. Due to its spectacular scenery, Going-to-the-Sun Road was selected for the opening scene of the 1980 film “The Shining”, starring Jack Nicholson, with aerial flybys are filmed over Wild Goose Island as the family car travels along the north shore of St. Mary Lake, through the East Side tunnel and onward, to their destination at the fictional Overlook Hotel mountain resort for his job interview as a winter caretaker. As you travel up this spectacular mountain road you might recognize some of the sights from the classic movie The Shining, but you may wonder, “Where is the Overlook Hotel” as you reach the summit. The reason you will not find the Overlook Hotel is, it’s the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood Oregon. Another fun fact is the interior scenes of the Overlook Hotel in the Shining are based on the famous Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. After visiting Glacier National Park your journey continues to Kalispell Montana for a night stay.

Beyond Glacier National Park, your journey travels south past the Bitterroot Mountains and over the Lost Trail Pass then closely follow along the historic Lewis and Clark Trail as you descend into the North Fork Salmon River Canyon. The Lewis and Clark Expedition’s journey through Idaho was extremely difficult and nearly became a total disaster due to extremely cold weather, snow-covered terrain, and near starvation. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06) was a U.S. military expedition, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The expedition was a major chapter in the history of American exploration filled with harrowing confrontations, harsh weather, and fateful decisions as they scouted a route across the American West. Lewis and Clark faced many challenges and hardships along their amazing journey but the most grueling and life-threatening section of the entire journey they encountered was crossing the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho. Before reaching Idaho, Lewis and Clark lucky acquired two Indian women of the Rocky Mountains, one of those a nameless woman and the other named Sacagawea who soon proved to be an invaluable member of the expedition. Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark in several ways, for example, by letting native tribes know that they came in peace, as well as helping the men with their diet, and finding edible plants to improve their health. Before joining Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea was kidnapped by the Hidatsa Tribe at age 12. Sacagawea previously lived among the Shoshone people along the border of modern-day Montana and Idaho. While Sacagawea didn’t guide the expedition, her childhood memories provided valuable clues that they were on the right path. Eventually, Lewis and Clark reached the Salmon River in Idaho and met the Shoshone Tribe. At this point, Sacagawea was joyfully reunited with her brother Cameahwait, who was now the Shoshone chief. From this location, Lewis and Clark attempted to cross the Bitterroot Mountains with horses and a Shoshone guide. The crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho proved to be the most grueling and life-threatening section of the entire journey to the Pacific Coast in Oregon. 

Beyond Salmon Idaho, your journey travels south along the Salmon River then eventually veers west for an off-road adventure up and over a scenic alpine wagon route to Sun Valley for lunch. A short distance beyond Sun Valley, your off-road adventure continues as you wind up and over a scenic mining route past natural hot springs and mining relics from a bygone era. As you descend the pass your off-road adventure travels along a pristine river past historic mining camps, abandoned mines, and remnants of mining equipment scattered across the mountainsides. Beyond the historic off-road mining route your journey travels west on an emigrant road and past Goodale’s Cutoff to rejoin the historic Oregon Trail in Mountain Home to complete your six-day adventure!