Jimmy Mac’s Tips, Tricks And Hacks For Riding The Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route

Jimmy Mac’s Tips, Tricks And Hacks For Riding The Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route

If you have checked out Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels before, you know I don’t do day-to-day recaps of riding the Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR). Instead, I compile tips, tricks and hacks to make your Idaho BDR ride as fun as ours. Lance Sallis of Central Texas Restorations and I started planning our Idaho ride in April and departed for the adventure on June 30th. Ten days and around 1,700 miles later, we returned to base camp in Boise, Idaho, exhausted (in a good way) but planning the next adventure. 

For anyone considering the Idaho BDR, both Lance and I highly recommend it. Idaho offers fantastic dirt and gravel roads, stunning vistas, abundant wildlife, raging rivers, tranquil lakes, super-cool little towns and a friendly populous (except for some aggressive drivers on Route 93 between Darby and Lolo and that stretch of highway is in Montana, not Idaho). 

Please use our tips and advice cautiously. Weather, fires, road conditions and other factors can change rapidly and substantially alter the routes, roads and terrain encountered. Our experiences are from July 2024; conditions may differ by August 2024. Don’t rely solely on our information. Remember to ride right, yield to wildlife, know your limits (that means slow down) and don’t ride too close to choppers parked in Darby, Montana.

Click on any photo to enlarge. 

Choosing Dual-Sport Bikes: Our BDR focus is on the dirt, not the miles of freeway to get to the dirt. We also don’t camp or cook. This approach allows us to ride small, responsive, lightweight dual-sport bikes. Lance rides a KTM 500 EXC and Jimmy rides a 2019 Suzuki DR-Z400. We truck the bikes to BDR rides (and so do many of the Adventure Bike riders). If your mindset for BDR is to start on your doorstep, ride to the BDR start, ride the BDR route, pitch tent every night, cook your meals and then ride back to your home, our setup will not suit you. Adventure Bikes are better suited for long hauls and carrying extra gear, albeit less nimble on BDR routes. We believe most BDR riders will find dual-sport bikes more enjoyable and easier to handle. Bill and Dawn let us leave our truck at their home in Boise for the duration of our ride. We almost talked Bill into joining us for a few days.

Skip the Official Start: The Idaho BDR officially starts in Jarbridge, Nevada. Everyone launching from Jarbridge agrees the town is awesome. Everyone also agrees the desert from Jarbridge to Interstate 84 is the worst riding of the Idaho BDR. Lance is from Texas and I’m from Southern California. The last thing either of us wanted was to ride desert miles. It didn’t help that BDR’s official video shows one of their group being air lifted from the route after crashing (not sure why the BDR marketing department includes this footage?). Desert riding is not why we traveled to Idaho. Plus, leaving in the beginning of July (which would later prove to be a little too early) meant encountering near triple-digit temps in the desert. We passed on Jarbridge.

Our First Day Route Hack: Thanks to Boise homegirl, Jill Bradley, a gravel bike adventurer who pedals her two wheels and knows every dirt road around Boise, an amazing first-day route was revealed. Heading south from Boise on Interstate 84, exit E. Blacks Creek Road and head east. Follow the winding paved rural road until you see a dirt road on the left with a sign for the Y-Stop General Store (you should be able to put the Y-Stop Store in whatever navigation system you are using). Head to the store. Get something to drink at the Y-Stop and hopefully the half house cat/half cougar will come over and rub against your leg.

Continue the Mission: After refreshments, backtrack to Blacks Creek Road (189) which becomes Long Gulch Road. You’ll see (or miss) the Prairie Store where you hang a right onto Prairie Road (121). This route is an epic way to start your adventure. The roads are easy and the views will have you distracted. Note: Verify directions using your own map or GPS before attempting.

Dam’ed if You Do: If you haven’t strayed from Prairie Road (121), it eventually leads you up to the Anderson Ranch Dam where the official BDR route will magically appear on your GPS. Again, don’t try this route unless it is on your map (it is NOT on the BDR Butler map) and on your GPS navigation system. 

End Day 1 in Featherville: Since we didn’t start in Jarbridge, ending the first day in the recommended Glenns Ferry didn’t make any sense. This would require backtracking the route from the Anderson Ranch Dam. We modified our first day (from Boise) by riding to the Feather River Hotel in Featherville. Featherville lies slightly off the BDR route by no more than a few miles (it is on the Butler BDR map). The rooms were reasonable and there is a restaurant. Staying in Featherville shortens day 2 by about 30 miles, making it approximately 125 miles. This trade-off did not present a problem.

Not Choosing Sides: It doesn’t matter what your political leanings, Cyndie’s General Store, right next to the Feather River Resort, is worth a visit (if you have a sense of humor). You can stock up on provisions and Hillary Clinton door mats. Cyndie’s pizza smelled great. We ate dinner in Pine before riding the short distance to Featherville.

Advantages of Dual-Sports: An Adventure Bike rider flagged us down to warn us of a road washout. The poor solo rider had spent hours unloading all his gear and manhandling his bike out of the wash. He turned his bike sideways, lifted the front wheel a few inches up the embankment and then lifted the rear wheel up the embankment until he got out. I was sweating bullets thinking about what lay ahead. Was I gonna endo down the steep embankment? Drown my engine in the water? Beg Lance to ride the section for me? When we reached the section, Lance and I rode through it side by side! Like I said, it can be a lot more fun on a dual-sport bike.

Accommodations in Yellowpine: The Yellowpine General Store, has modest yet comfortable and clean rooms in the back. The owner, Josh Jones, is an accomplished off-road racer with a wall of trophies to prove it.  

Rustic Beauty: Yellowpine, with its dirt streets and one stop sign, started out as a mining town. It later catered to off-road enthusiasts in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter. The mine is reopening soon. We hope the reopening doesn’t spoil the town’s charm.

Unexpected 5-Star Discovery in Yellowpine: The Corner, a pub and full service restaurant, looked inviting enough but we were in for a big surprise. Tim Aldrich is a renowned chef from Portland who purchased The Corner as a summertime diversion. He explained it was more work than he ever expected (it took him weeks to bring the cleanliness up to his standards) but it is remarkable what he turned it into. The menu is limited so every item is fresh and friends, everything is gourmet delicious! Lance and I had lots of great meals on this adventure but The Corner meal was the best. Once we convinced another group of BDR riders to join us, Tim opened The Corner for breakfast too. The place even has live music on the weekends. Amazing.    

Snow in July: Climbing out of Yellowpine was our first encounter with snow drifts, a reminder of Idaho’s unpredictable weather. No drifts on this section were big enough to stop our forward momentum. That would come in a few days.

Flexible Itinerary: BDR expects riders to leave Yellowpine and ride 205 miles to Elk City (Section 4 on the BDR Butler map). That’s a long day. It didn’t help that Lance suffered a flat front tire near Burgdorf Hot Springs but the flat did force us to stop at the hot springs (something we would not have done due to the length of the section). The Idaho BDR is 9 days if you follow their suggestion. I’d make the argument to turn it into a 10-day ride by splitting Section 4 into two days and staying a night at the Burgdorf Hot Springs. This way you are not rushing through some beautiful country.

Executive Decision: Little did we know that the guy at the Burgdorf Hot Springs who lent us his tire irons and gave us a bottle of tire sealant and a patch kit was FIXEHardware’s CEO Kevin Daniels. Kevin totally helped us out and refused to take any money for the supplies. I don’t know anything about climbing or caving, but his product line looks designed and made with pure passion.

Seeing is Unbelieving: It is common to turn a corner and see the road snaking up or down for miles ahead. This is BDR at its best. Wide open spaces, few trail users and easy-to-follow tracks laid out by the BDR crew. Just ride and enjoy.

Next Stop, Elk City: We stayed at the Elk City Hotel and although we arrived late (remember the flat tire) the place offered high-tech contactless check-in and checkout. The key was in the room and you leave it there when you depart.

Stock Up: Supplies had been slim pickings up to this point. Not so in Elk City. The Elk City General Store (across the street from the hotel) is well-stocked for any dietary and refreshment needs. The folks there were also super cool helping us figure out how to check-in to our contactless hotel.

Bend in the Road: The Idaho BDR offers every type of road surface from pavement to two-track jeep roads. Reading the road is an important skill for every rider. A hard packed gravel road like this suggests heavy truck traffic. The paid-by-the-load lumber trucks are notorious for moving along at a good clip. Enjoy the views while staying alert and staying to the right.

New forests: While the burnt trees represent a very small percentage of the Idaho forest, the path of old wildfires is obvious and unsettling. I don’t buy the line that “Only you can prevent forest fires” because lightning starts plenty of fires. Still, BDR campers can do their part by double checking your campsite before departing.

Speaking of Forest Fires: This BDR offers a lot of fire lookouts next to the route. Unfortunately, due to snow levels and gnarly sections leading up to the towers, we didn’t reach many of them. Riders who arrive in August should make it past the snow but maybe not the rocks. My rule of thumb is if I feel nervous, I turnaround. There will be other lookouts that are easier to reach.  

Stop in Stevenson: The BDR suggests riding from Elk City to Lolo Mountain, Montana. We stopped short in the town of Stevensonville, just off highway 93. There we found the amazing Stevensville Inn, a former hospital turned into a hotel. The place is an easy walk to town that offers plenty of eating options. The hotel also has a great communal kitchen. This is another contactless check-in and checkout hotel that makes it easy on BDR riders who might be a little late getting to town.

Indian Post Office: Out of Lolo Mountain you’ll ride the Lolo Motorway that is nothing but epic dirt road riding and amazing views. The Indian Post Office is where Native Americans still gather to get spirit medicine and worship. It is sacred ground.

Skip the Inn: The day’s ride from Stevensonville ends in Pierce, Idaho and we had reservations at the Timber Inn. Unfortunately, a forestry crew occupied a bunch of rooms and there was one shared shower. That was kinda gross. The crew was stinking up the place frying something for dinner and our room was seriously grimy. I’ve stayed at bunk houses that were way cleaner. We paid for the night and bailed. Luckily, The Outback on Main Street had a cabin for each of us at a reasonable price and breakfast included.

Throwing Curves: You have to be prepared for the BDR to present some obstacles. On our way from Pierce to Wallace we hit a series of snow drifts. We got through six of them but they kept getting deeper and longer. We started getting stuck. We needed to turn around. This was July 5th and the 2023-2024 Idaho snowfall wasn’t even record setting. If you plan to ride the entire Idaho BDR, better not leave before August.

Strike Two: After the snow drifts, I got a flat tire and wasn’t prepared to fix it on the trail. I learned a lot of BDR lessons this day. First, stop. Don’t press on without a plan. Study your map and figure the best way to bail out to get to civilization. Lance zip tied my tire to the rim and I plotted a course to Clarkia because my GPS suggested it. That was probably a mistake. Elk River may have been a better option. After almost 60 miles riding on a flat (I was so happy to be on a dual-sport bike), we hit Clarkia and realized it was just a small store, not a town. All we could do was head for Elk River on the pavement and hope they had motorcycle tubes.

Hit a Home Run: We had not ridden two miles on Highway 3 towards Elk River when we spotted Fossil Bowl MX Park. The first guy in the pits we talked to was Jesse Ely who was riding the track with his wife and two kids. He not only had a tube, he had a stand, tools and compressor that he offered up for us. Saved! Jesse refused to accept any money for his help, but Lance still figured a way to buy his family dinner. I’m working on a viable tool kit and spares for my next ride. 

Sliding Into Home: The front tire fixed, we had to ride pavement North to St. Maries and then head East to Avery to rejoin the BDR Route. Interesting note; The BDR Butler map shows the road to Avery as Route 50 but there was no such marking. The curvy, scenic and sometimes cool-breeze road is Saint Joe River Road and it follows the Saint Joe river. Once in Avery we reconnected with the BDR route and more spectacular miles through a series of tunnels that lead to Wallace.

Extended Stay: We arrived in Wallace late due to the day’s shenanigans and decided immediately to stay two days in town. We were booked at the Ryan Hotel right in the middle of downtown. Highly recommended although the place is for sale. We hope the new owners keep the same high standards set by the current owners.

The Town Left Untouched: The story goes that the interstate was planned to cut through the Wallace downtown and destroy many of the surrounding homes. The town got together and declared every building and house a historical site. The interstate had to be elevated around town and the town’s buildings to this day remain true to their original architecture and construction.

Time Stood Still: There are very few towns in America that have been left untouched by “progress” (I use that term loosely). Wallace is one of them and worth investing an extra day to explore and enjoy.

Smell the Outdoors: The route from Wallace to Clark Fork has a number of magical sections that make the entire trip worthwhile. This is what the best of BDR serves up. We encounter miles of narrow two-track where the right track is seriously eroded. Fight your urge to ride on the left track. Slow down and stay right.  

Name Dropping: We stayed at the Clark Fork Lodge for our last night of the BDR ride. There were a group of Canadian riders headed South on the BDR and like every Canadian rider I’ve met, they were super cool. When making reservations months ago, the Clark Fork Lodge was booked on the night we needed. I mentioned we were riding the BDR and could they recommend another place? The guy told me to hang on and found us a room. “I always keep a few rooms set aside for you BDR guys.” Most businesses dig BDR riders.

Miles To Go Before I Sleep: The riding from Clark Fork to the Canadian border offers a few spectacular views before heading into farmland. 

Border Crossings: Tired and hot, yet stoked, we crossed the Canadian border (just to say we did) and headed back to Boise. The border agents explained they don’t stamp passports anymore because everything is electronic. Lance talked the Canadian agent into stamping his passport anyway but the stamp was out of ink! I got a super-cool stamp when crossing back into America by asking nice.

Roads Back to Boise: We rode to Coeur d’Alene from Canada and called it a night. If you punch in Boise on your GPS from Coeur d’Alene, it will take you on freeways that may be faster but it won’t be as much fun as our route. Leave Coeur d’Alene on Rt 95 South to Moscow. Head East from Moscow on Rt 8 to Troy and then head South on 99. That dumps you onto Rt 3. Keep heading South. These are some great, secluded miles of road. Rt 3 ends at Rt 95 so you will now be heading South on Rt. 95. When Rt 95 hits Rt 55, head towards Meadows. Stay on Rt 55 and that will take you to Boise. Please use my suggestion (and illustration) to plot out your ride on a map. Do not try this ride based solely on my directions. Click on the map to make it bigger.

Bloopers and Outtakes: Here are some left over images…

Click on map to enlarge.

Other BDR stories from Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels:

Oregon’s Desert-To-Pines Backcountry Discovery Route

An Inaugural Ride Of Wyoming’s Eight-Day Backcountry Discovery Route And Tips For Your Ride

A Dual-Sport Adventure Good For The Soul

Riding Utah’s Backcountry Discovery Route, Part II

DR-Z’ing Washington State’s Backcountry Discovery Route

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