Bitterroot Loop V.3
Idaho might be mostly known for potatoes but did you know it also has a bunch of super rad rail trails?
Now you do.
We’ve been down to ride this loop 3 times and it always delights. We have always tackled it over 3 days of riding, with this last time adding in a bunch of sections of the “Milwaukee Road” scenic sections which are gravel and take you, sometimes, waayyyyy off the already very-not-beaten path and onto some of the best gravel we’ve ever ridden. Really.
~ It is possible to do it as a 4-5 day with motel/B&B stays but we ain’t got time for that and got no advice on the matter ~
The thing that makes this ride so cool is the fact that it is almost entirely on rail trail, there is a ton of history along the way, and over the route you roll trough so many different terrains/zones. Almost 300kms of hardly any cars is the carrot. The other thing about this ride that is so…interesting…and kinda disturbing…is the mining history in the area.
The format for this ride is: Spend a whole day driving to historic Wallace, stay the night, ride 3 days, stay the night in Wallace one more time, then spend a whole day driving back to Calgary. Budget 5 days for the express version, maybe more if you feel like exploring the area. We based ourselves out of Wallace, ID as the town itself is pretty cool, “Center of the Universe” and all that, decent food and coffee is available, and there is a campground located in town - adjacent to a brew pub too.
This is how we rode it, click on the links to access the RideWithGPS file:
