Written Directions
This route starts in Boise, ID. Take State Route 55 north out of Boise up to/through Horseshoe Bend, ID. Continue on hwy 55 to the Garden Valley turnoff which is directly across the second bridge on hwy 55. Turn right on NF-24 (Banks-Lowman Road) and continue through to Garden Valley, ID. If gas is not required, one continues riding until the next Stop sign at a "T" in the road. You will be "T'ing" with Hwy 21. Turn east (left) and this will take you all the way to Stanley, ID. Once you leave Stanley, the next "T" in the road takes you north or south, take south to Sun Valley on ID-75.
Scenery
The scenery begins about 10 miles outside of Boise on highway 55 and continues well past Horseshoe Bend along the Payette River until one turns east and travels toward Garden Valley. The climb in the road winds along cliffs that are nearly 500' to the bottom. Once you reach the end of this road, you head east on highway 21 all the way to Stanley which boasts the Sawtooth mountain range as its backdrop. Most riders gas up at the Chevron before continuing their ride to Sun Valley, which is an additional 63 miles south. The scenery around Stanley is phenomenal, and as you arrive in Sun Valley the sight of million dollar homes welcomes you.
Drive Enjoyment
In total, this trip will give you nearly 250 miles combining tight twisting roads with high speed sweepers. As one nears Stanley, the roads become straighter. However, with snow fall starting in late September and continuing through March or April, the roads take a beating. The DOT maintains them as well as they possibly can. Through Garden Valley, the tar snakes in the road get heated and slightly squishy in the turns. Highway 21 is normally in good condition--few potholes to speak of, few areas of sand and rock, etc
Tourism Opportunities
Through Garden Valley, there is a Chevron at roughly the 50-mile mark. From this point to Stanley one may find possibly three amenities for food with Stanley having a nice restaurant. Between Stanley and Sun Valley there is perhaps one location for food which is about 15 miles from Sun Valley. Our groups never stop there as we just continue on to Sun Valley which is home to many 4-star restaurants. Camping abounds in this area. There are more camping areas than I can count. Probably the best is Red Fish Lake which has cabins for rent and camping areas all along its shoreline. Many tourist attractions exist for photo shoots of the breathtaking Sawtooth Mountains. Galena Summit, one of our favorite twisting mountain roads, has two attractions that folks can pull off and take pictures. One stop has bathrooms.
Special_notes: If one is in the area and decides to make this trip, be advised that gas stations are few and far between. We ALWAYS gas up in Stanley, regardless of their gas prices (generally a few cents higher than Boise, but that's about it). A couple of us who had Honda RC51's would actually gas up in Garden Valley due to the bike's aggressive gas consumption. Bring a good camera as there are plenty of photo opportunities. Traffic along these roads varies. Sunday's will bring a lot of traffic returning home to the Boise area, and other than Friday evening that is probably the heaviest flow.
Motorcycle Road Additional info
- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather.
