Scenic Byways - Part 1
4 scenic byways through Idaho and beyond
By Tom Mehren
When it comes to long days on the road, Washington, Oregon and
Idaho all sport excellent scenic byways that can be connected
together by you, the rider, to create several days in each state of
scenic riding and wonder. Our Scenic Byways series will provide you
some food for thought as you plan out your next adventure. We begin
with Idaho which boasts 28 of them. In this first part of the
series, we ride four.
After an eight-day trip to Salt Lake City via Oregon and a few
hundred miles of interstate, I was ready to head back to Seattle. The
interstate part was not appealing. After reviewing my atlases I set
a course in my GPS to wind through a series of four of Idaho’s
scenic byways making my way northwest back to…the Northwest.
Of course the departure from Salt Lake would require several
hours on I-15 to get to my launching point in Idaho. Well – I guess
that’s as good of an excuse as any to work on rounding the tires out
later in the day with a little canyon carving. It was mid-August and
I recall a gas stop near the state line where someone asked me if I
was on my way to Sturgis. "Ahhh, not me" I replied as I rode off on
my Yamaha FZ6.
I hit my junction for SR 26 at Blackfoot in the late morning and
headed for Arco where I stopped briefly for lunch at a fuel stop. I
had been looking forward to my next stop, The Craters of the Moon
National Monument for sometime now.
 At
CotM I entered the park, stopped into the visitor’s center, paid the
fee to ride through the monument and the FZ6 and I toured the area
for about an hour. More time would have been nice, but the camera
was busy picking up the sites, and the memories live on. Smoking lava
tubes, craters rising out of the landscape and a geology lesson here
and there provided a quality time at a stop worth making.
It was now early afternoon and I made my way toward Ketchum,
picking up my first scenic byway of the four I had chosen to link
together, The Sawtooth SB. In Ketchum I stopped for a break to look
around and see a ski-crazy town in full swing with summer visitors.
It’s a nice place to visit and in summer it’s bright with color that
you wouldn’t see in the black and white of winter.
North on SR 75 I headed as I ascended high into mountains
enjoying every corner the road had waiting for me. I don’t recall
there being much other traffic and the higher I rose, the broader the landscape below
became. I reached Galena Summit
at 8,701 feet, pulled the bike over, took in the view and snapped a
few photos. It was cold up here at the higher elevation and I donned
my rain jacket to retain my body heat.
 Descending
down northward from the summit, there lay the Sawtooth Range to my
left, which literally looks like the teeth of a flat saw used for
cutting large trees a few hundred years ago. I didn’t know it then,
but I now know this area was recently used to bring back a strain of
grey wolves that had long vanished from the area. The region is a
playground for hunters and fishermen, that is until the snowy days
of fall set in. The byway ends at the junction for Stanley.
Above: the Sawtooth Ridge rises above the valley floor
At this point I made a left and was on my next link, The
Ponderosa Scenic Byway. Here you wind your way through the forest
northward wrapping your way around the end of the Sawtooth range and
then heading southwest down Canyon Creek. Crossing over Banner
Summit wasn’t quite as chilly with the elevation being just 7,020
feet. The air warmed the further down I rode. Today I would skip the
lower half of this byway in an effort to connect with the next on my
list, the Wildlife Canyon SB. But if you have the time, make the
ride toward Boise as the twisties really pickup along Beaver Creek
just past the junction for County 24.
 Along
the Wildlife Canyon SB, there are pullouts with plenty of explanation
about the area. Keep your eyes on the South Fork Payette River as
you ride and you’ll no doubt see kayakers, rafters and other
waterborne recreationalists enjoying the rapids that continue to
grow as the river picks up speed. Besides a fledging elk population,
mule deer, whitetail deer, chukars, wild turkeys, eagles, ospreys,
cougars, bears and wolves are abundant in this canyon. The region
becomes more sage-like and arid and in the summer it’s not uncommon
to come across one or more wild fires along this area.
Above: Fire engulfs a ridge beyond the Banner range. One of 14
wild fires burning that day in Idaho
The byway ends at Banks on Highway 55 and I turn right to proceed
north along my final byway for the day, The Payette River Scenic
Byway. 55 is a simple ride, not too much in the way of technical
riding involved but it’s the end of a long day and my mind starts to
wander as I contemplate evening accommodations. After 500 miles I
pull into Donnelly and inquire about a room, having camped the last
8 nights in a row. "You must be kidding," replied the
night man. "We
have the fair going on this weekend, there’s not a room for 50
miles."
I could have camped nearby, but I was determined to get a nice
sleep away from the fair crowd. Northward I rode into McCall where
the large, lovely Lake Payette resides. I stopped at a restaurant,
The Mill, and was wooed by the old time hospitality and quality of
the food and drink selections. During dinner I decided to head
another 25 miles north to Riggins and seek out a room.
At New Meadows, the end of this scenic byway, I blew my
connection with US 95, heading south instead of north. After a few
miles the GPS made it apparent I had erred. I turned around,
retraced my steps and made the correct move when I hit New Meadows.
It was now dusk and with a long day behind me I was working overtime
and running with my deer radar cranked up. I saw several shadows
hopping and it was good to hit Riggins after a 500 mile day
unscathed. I enquired about a motel room – "one left" said the night
manager throwing the switch on the ‘No Vacancy’ sign.
The morning was clear with the exception of some smoke that was
wafting through the area in a state that was dealing with no
less than 14 wildfires that day. I headed north up US 95 paralleling
Hells Canyon which was just to the west. There’s not much about
Hells Canyon you can see until you travel up it in a boat, but
that’s another trip.
 The
ride up 95 proved to be a true pleasure with plenty of tasty road
engineering along the Salmon River. At Whitebird, I pulled out to
photograph two two-point bucks. My attempts at accessing the camera
spooked them and so they fled. But I tricked them. After riding north a
mile, I turned the bike around and came back down the hill. The
bucks were back to normal grazing and this time I pulled out and got
the photos I had hoped for on the first try.
Above - I finally capture a shot of the boys
 I
rode back up Whitebird Hill and at the top, pulled out and looked east
across the Nez Pierce Whitebird Battlefield. I noted an extremely
twisty stretch of road below, the old 95 road which appeared
accessible. Next time I’ll do it.
At left: Take the new road or the old road? Don't miss
the old road.
From Grangeville, I continued on US 95 merging with US 12 at
Lewiston, well sort of at Lewiston…
To be continued
For more information on all of Idaho’s Scenic Byways visit
http://www.idahobyways.gov/
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