The "Blow You Away" Idaho-Tour

Motorcycle Roads & Rides > Routes > United States > Idaho

Average Rating - This road has been rated by 2 visitors

State: Idaho
Date Submitted: March 1, 2007
Submitted by: Frank M
Motorcycle Road Length: 425 Miles

Written Directions

This route begins in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. From Coeur d'Alane head east on I-90 for just a short while until you reach exit #22/Hwy 95 where you want to exit and go south on Hwy 95. Take this south as it hugs Coeur d'Alene Lake and when you get down to Harrison, ID look for Rt 3 where you will take a right and go southeast down to St. Maries. In St. Maries pickup Rt 5 heading west and take this all the way over to Plummer where you want to pickup Hwy 95 heading south (take a left). You are going to stay on 95 for a while (about 212 miles) as it runs down not far from the state border. You will pass through Lewiston, the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, White Bird and finally to New Meadows. In New Meadows you need to make your last road change to Rt 55 and take 55 east and then south through Cascade, Horseshoe Bend, and finally into the final destination of Boise.

Scenery

This
road begins as route 97 following a lakeshore south for
the first 35 miles. It is all big mountains on one side
and lake views on the other. It changes onto a rolling hill
type farming and logging scenic area for a good while before
turning into a beautiful river following ride till turning
into a high desert with great views changing once again
to a farming area ending in the city of Boise. I have
traveled all over the U.S. and Canada and live in Alaska
and I am still blown away by the scenic beauty of this ride.
You'll pass through multiple national forests including
- St. Joe National
Forest and Boise
National Forest and Nez
Perce National Historical Park.

Road Quality

The beauty if this road is its diversity. It starts with twisties of such scenic beauty it's difficult to take it all in. There are many small towns along the way to stop and settle down in and admire the setting. The road gets a little faster and straighter the further down you travel. The most fun is stopping at White Bird and finding your way onto the old highway over the pass. It is only 2 miles at most but may have as many as 60 160 degree switchbacks and is sport bikers' paradise. The road from there onto Boise is much straighter and is still very scenic. Good pavement, lots of wildlife, lots of fun!

Roadside Amenities

If you enjoy great scenery, lakes and rivers, wonderful local folks who are biker friendly, like old west history and like touring at a slower pace and still want excitement, this is the ride for you! If you are looking for upscale accommodations you will be disappointed with the lack of anything upscale (exception would be in Coeur d'Alene (your starting point)). There are plenty of camp grounds along this route in state parks, National forests and private grounds. A few of the town along the way have modest motels at reasonable rates. The signage is way beyond typical information usually given, so stop and read them all to get the best of your experience. The Nez Perce Indian monument at Nezperce is a must stop as well as White bird.

Additional Info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather.

Nickname (optional) Frank M

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Reviewed by Guest on July 24, 2010 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: DeDe
motorcycle_year: 2008
motorcycle_make: Yamaha
motorcycle_type: Cruiser
Comment: There are many great sections of road on this route. I especially like riding between Riggins and Grangeville along the Salmon River and up White Bird Pass- High Speed Sweeping Curves! My other favorite is between I-90 and St Maries - this is Hwy 97 and it merges with Hwy 3 approx. 8m south of Harrison to take you to St Maries. This is a tight twisting road most of the way � a favorite midweek morning ride. Hwy 5 takes you west to Hwy 95 at Plummer, ID. There is an error in the directions of the original post � Take I-90 to Wolf lodge/Harrison/Hwy 97 exit south around Lake Coeur d� Alene, Not Hwy 95. Hwy 95 is a nice scenic ride from Coeur d�Alene, but it is a 2 to 4 lane Hwy and barley passes the lake to the west by cougar bay. Also the map shows taking Hwy 3 out of St Maries to Hwy 6 before reconnecting to Hwy 95 near Potlatch, ID. Either way you will have an excellent ride. Hwy 3 all the way down to Hwy 12 near Lewiston is a great back road. It�s only a few miles to go back to the Junction of Hwy 12 and Hwy 95. Or as Jim posted you can ride up Hwy 12 to Kooskia and over to Grangeville. So May possibilities! Lodging can be found in McCall, Riggins (BW Salmon or the Riggins Motel are both Biker friendly) Grangeville, Lewiston, and Coeur d� Alene.
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Reviewed by Guest on December 25, 2009 (0 out of 0 members found this review useful.)
Creator: jim
motorcycle_year: 2008
motorcycle_make: Suzuki
motorcycle_type: Cruiser
Comment: This is a great ride. My wife and I rode it last year. After being stuck in Boisie for 2 days due to heavy unrideable rain, we headed north. Mcall is beautifull. There was road construction in some places but nothing more then slight delays. At Grangville we headed up to Kooskia this is a fun road then hwy 12 to Lewiston and up to St Maries another likable town. The East road around the lake is full of twisties but watch out for the trucks with boat trailers they tend to use both lanes in the corners.
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