Thought I would post about one of my favorite trips I have been on. There is an organization called "Backcountry Discovery Routes" that puts together state-specific routes for adventure motorcyclists. I have done several and Idaho and Colorado are probably my top two favorite. Utah is pretty close too!
The GPS coordinates are free, but if you are seriously considering a BDR trip I highly recommend getting one of their maps. They are really nice quality and worth every penny. http://ridebdr.com/IDBDR
Here is a short trailer from the BDR org on their Idaho route:
Here is the video I made. Most of the footage & photos are mine, but I threw in some clips and pictures from other riders as well. We had quite a large group and all had a BLAST!
Day 1 - Twin Falls to Lowman
Map - https://goo.gl/Nmd1i1
We had heard and read that the first part of the route, starting from Jawbridge, wasn't all that great. We decided to start our trip in Idaho Falls and spent the night before at the Anderson Camp RV Park (http://andersoncamp.com/). Was a great place to stay and get ready for the big trip. Here is a shot of us the morning of Day 1, big group!
The BDR route actually crosses the highway up at Glenns Ferry, so we had an easy 60 miles up from camp to jump on the dirt. The first part was pretty easy going. Long stretches of dirt as you made your way up into the mountains, does tend to be a bit dusty.
Once you pass Anderson Ranch Reservior (pictured above), you will hit Pine which is where things really start to get incredible. From Pine all the way to Lowman it's some epic riding through the Idaho mountains. It's all fairly easy, and you will be blown away with the beauty up there.
We camped at the Mountain View campground along the Payette River, it was a really nice place.
Day 2 - Lowman to Burgdorf Hot Springs
Map - https://goo.gl/294uxk
What an incredible route. Honestly some of the best riding of my life on this stretch. The day started out really nice but the rain and hail came and made things cold, wet, and muddy. Here is the mighty "Handlebar" Dave riding the BMW 1200 just before the rain came in.
Quite possibly one of my favorite pictures I took this trip ^^
One of the guys in the group, and possibly the most experienced rider, had a small fall in the mud and ended up breaking his ankle! He was super bummed and knew right away what had happened. We ended up going down the canyon to the hospital in Cascade. We rode through snow and what was the best riding of my life quickly turned to the worst. We got to the hospital soaked to the bone and practically hypothermic. The staff was extremely friendly and basically let us make ourselves at home.
Eventually we made our way up the road to our final destination for the day, the Burgdorf Hot Springs. OH MY GOODNESS THEY WERE MAGICAL. I highly recommend stopping here. We rented out a few of their cabins and were able to dry our things out with the wood stoves. And after a crazy day, soaking in the hot springs was such a special treat.
I don't recall how much they were as one of the guys organized the whole trip. But from what I remember it wasn't too much money. Me and my buddy Ryan shared a cabin, taking my girlfriend back here ASAP.
NOTE: The cabins do not have power or WIFI, you are pretty far out in the boonies. They do sell some food at the main lodge
Day 3 - Burgdorf to Kooskia
Map - https://goo.gl/JyTY56
We modified the BDR route a bit here. Instead of heading east on the 14, we continued north. Our goal was to ride Highway 12, which I have know idea why they skipped that part.
Day 3 was an amazing day/ride. We got lucky with no rain, and some super awesome roads. There was quite a bit of logging going on in this area. You ride through so much scenery and there are side roads everywhere. You could definitely get lost up in this area. Make sure to stop at the bus and get a picture.
This picture gives you a pretty good idea of what the roads were like. There was very little mud which was strange, but the roads were nice and damp. There were miles and miles of these narrow forest roads winding through the trees. If you are looking for motorcycle heaven, this is pretty much it.
Can't remember where we camped this night, since it wasn't part of the original plan we just found some campground that was real nice.
Day 4 - Kooskia/Lowell - Pierce
Map - https://goo.gl/NUsU38
Pretty much all pavement, but EPIC pavement. Highway 12 (I believe it's also called the Lolo corridor) is spectacular. Even if you have the chance to drive it I recommend going.
We actually had a different route in mind for this day, we wanted to head up highway 12 then head north through the mountains to Pierce. Unfortunately the tree clearing crews hadnt finished our planned road and we were unable to go forward. We did however have some pretty cool fog!
So we bombed up to Lolo and then all the way back down Highway 12 and up to Pierce. In Pierce we stopped at the Timber Inn for dinner. We had some place up the road for camp but the owner of the Timber Inn had a few rooms upstairs, along with a nice yard in the back where all the non-old people could camp. 😁
Day 5 - Pierce to Wallace
Map - https://goo.gl/mTgX4f
Another amazing day of riding! About halfway through you come to the Blue Heaven Cabin. Pretty neat little spot. You are allowed to camp in it, just need to make sure it's clean for the next people. Absolutely zero services there...
Some pretty cool features along this route. There is quite a bit of logging as well but still plenty of beauty. Pretty much ALL of the trip you are riding along rivers. It's so serene and makes for some fun twisty roads. After a while our large group started to space out a bit and enjoy the ride.
There is a pretty cool tunnel, loved this shot. Looks like we are riding into hell 😈
We camped up the road a bit at the Kahnderosa RV Campground in Cataldo. Honestly, it was ok but the freeway noise was terrible. Would recommend finding somewhere a bit more secluded.
Day 6 - Wallace to Athol
Map - https://goo.gl/DqByz7
A lot more incredible riding. By this day, I had pretty much decided I am moving to Idaho. Utah is pretty incredible, but Idaho just blew me away with it's constant and epic beauty!
We peeled off a little early from the route and headed down to the small town of Athol, where one of the guy's had a airplane hangar on a private airport. Made for a really amazing place to camp!
Day 7 - Athol to HOME
We had a support vehicle following us the whole way and it made it really nice on the ride home. We loaded the bikes up on a trailer and bombed back to Utah.
The IDBDR was an incredible ride. I recommend it to anyone who is interested. Let me know if you have any specific questions as to the route or the trails. It's been a few years since I rode the trip but I am hoping to head back there again very soon (possibly this year!).
