Horse Camping

Horse Camping Areas

• Highway 14 Corridor

  
   

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  American Indians traveled through the present-day South Fork of the Clearwater River corridor on their seasonal migration from the Camas Prairie in Idaho to the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. The route, known as the southern Nez Perce Trail, was later used by gold miners and homesteaders who flocked to the area in the 1860s.

  Today, State Highway 14, which follows the South Fork of the Clearwater River, is the primary travel route through the corridor. This picturesque route winds through the forested canyon with sections of rugged granite outcroppings. From Golden, the countryside changes to gently sloping lodgepole pine-covered uplands and lush meadows which are carpeted with a variety of wildflowers from April through July. An auto tour along the historic Elk City Wagon Road is located in the northern portion of the corridor. Interpretive signs along Highway 14 explain the rich and colorful mining history of the Elk City/Dixie area. The Newsome and Orogrande mining districts can be accessed from Highway 14. Visitors will find hiking, fishing and picnicking opportunities along the way.

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  Road and trail status report

• Flint Creek Trailhead
• Jumbo Camp Campground
• Table Meadows Campground
• Lochsa/Highway 12 Corridor

  The corridor winds along two wild and scenic rivers, the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River and the Lochsa River. Scenery is beautiful through the corridor, ranging from dense forests to shrubfields created by wildfires in the early 1900s. Canyon walls are steep, and rock outcroppings are impressive.

• Eagle Mountain Trailhead
• Elk Summit Campground
• Split Creek Trailhead and River Access
• Wilderness Gateway Campground
• Magruder Road Corridor

  
   

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  The historic, 101-mile, single-lane, mostly-unimproved Magruder Corridor Road winds through a vast undeveloped area, offering solitude and pristine beauty as well as expansive mountain views. The corridor was created in 1980 leaving a unique road that enables a traveler to drive between two wildernesses: the 1.2 million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness to the north, and the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the South. The road itself has changed little since its construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s.

  Travel time varies, but it takes six to eight hours to travel from Red River to Darby without rest stops, at an average speed of 12-15 miles per hour. A two-day trip is ideal with an overnight stay at one of the dispersed or primitive campsite locations. The corridor was named for Elk City merchant Lloyd Magruder who, in 1863, along with four companions, was murdered near mile 44.2 westbound (near the Selway River). The murderers were pursued and brought back to Lewiston, Idaho, where they were tried, found guilty, and hanged; the first legal hanging in the Idaho territory.

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  Road and trail status report

• 14 Mile Trailhead
• Red Mailbox Campsite
• Salmon River / Highway 95 Corridor

  
   

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  The Salmon River/Highway 95 Corridor offers a wide range of recreation opportunities ranging from mushroom hunting to wilderness backpacking. The western boundary is formed by the Snake River, popularly known as "Hells Canyon" - the deepest gorge in North America. The Salmon River - often referred to as "The River of No Return" - forms the southern border before turning to the north and forming a central corridor to the Salmon River District.

  The Salmon River District covers 449,309 acres (91,057 wilderness) of land. The highest point on the Forest, He Devil Peak, at 9,393 feet and lowest point at Jones Creek at Pittsburg Landing on the Snake River at 2,050 feet, are both in the District. The Clearwater Ranger District, within the Corridor, is the most accessible of the forest's districts. The entire northwest side of the district is the forest boundary bordering the Camas Prairie, a short distance from Grangeville. The district area encompasses approximately 220,000 acres. Initial access across the district was provided by the Nez Perce Trail, a primary Indian route between the Bitterroot and Clearwater valleys. The Milner Toll Road between Mount Idaho and Florence, was constructed around 1893. The toll road, now called Milner Trail, is a popular ATV trail.

  Learn More about this Corridor

  Road and Trail Status Reports

• Iron Phone Junction Campground
• Boyd Creek Campground
• Fog Mountain Trailhead