The Getting There series

The actual drive to the places worth going.

All of it out of one small town in Custer County. Drive time, road surface, and the turn you'll miss if you're not looking — on video, before you're in the truck.

Getting There — No. 1

Mount Borah

Lost River Range · 20 miles north of Mackay

Idaho's high point, 12,662 ft. Chicken Out Ridge, the snow bridge, and the 1983 quake that moved the whole valley.

Drive from Mackay
~23 mi / 30 min — US-93 north, then 3 mi east on Birch Springs Road
Road
Well-graded dirt. Passenger cars are fine.
Getting There — No. 2

North Fork of the Big Lost

Salmon-Challis NF · off Trail Creek Road

Free dispersed camping in a drainage with almost nobody in it. Moose in the willows, pronghorn on the sage below.

Drive from Mackay
US-93 north ~16 mi, west on Trail Creek Road (FR 208), then North Fork Road.
Road
Passenger-friendly to the gate; high clearance beyond. Impassable when wet.
Getting There — No. 3

Trail Creek Road

FR 208 · Ketchum to Mackay over the Pioneers

Forty-one miles of CCC-built gravel over a 7,896 ft summit. Five campgrounds, no services, no cell signal.

Drive time
1½–2 hours without stops. Budget half a day.
Surface
Paved out of Ketchum, then gravel over the summit.
Vehicles
Passenger cars in the dry. No trailers, no RVs.

Still to come: Mountain Biking Sun Valley · Mackay · Sunbeam Hot Springs · Whitewater at Stanley · Challis Hot Springs · Spar Canyon Road · Morgan Creek Road · The Yankee Fork Gold Dredge · Custer.

More drives as we film them.

Watch on YouTube