Jeeping & Creeping along the Magruder Corridor

Josh heard about the Magruder Corridor a few years ago, and ever since then, he's wanted to drive along it. The Magruder Corridor is a roadway right in between two large wilderness areas in two states: the 1.2 million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Montana and the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho. It was constructed in the 1930's by the CCC, and it spans over 100 miles. The single-lane, rough, primitive road is winding and steep, and takes about 6-8 hours to travel if you average 12-15 MPH. Once I realized the Red River Hot Springs Resort is near the end of the Magruder Corridor, I decided it would be worthwhile for me to join him on the excursion. We made plans at the beginning of summer to accomplish this day-long journey towards the end of summer. We reserved a night at the resort for August, and made our plans to go long before we made plans to go down the Middle Fork. However, it was only 3 days after we got back from the Middle Fork trip that we left for the Magruder Corridor. We took the Jeep, and Josh packed it with all types of tools and supplies to be prepared in case we broke down along the road that doesn't have cell phone service coverage. 

We left home about 7am on August 20. We drove over Lost Trail pass, and then turned off the highway before Darby. We stopped at the top of the pass, on the border of Idaho and Montana, at about 9:30am, to begin our journey heading west along the Corridor. 

The road was decent at the beginning of the passageway. Our next stop was the Magruder Visitor's Center, but the buildings were all locked and nobody was there. We walked around, and signed the visitor's log, and got back on the road. 

After the Magruder Crossing Campground, the road became more rough, and we creeped along slower as a result. It was such a beautiful drive on the rugged road, though, and the views were constantly changing! 

We parked at the Salmon Mountain trailhead, and Josh hiked up the mountain and spoke to the volunteer who was manning the lookout tower while I stayed in the Jeep and took a nap. 

The lookout tower from a different view 
further down the road after we continued on. 

We veered off the main road again after a few miles for a side trip onto a steep, bumpy side road with another old lookout tower at the end of it. It was so rough that I got out after a bit and walked!

Coming back down the rough side road

The same lookout tower from a different view
further down the road.
It's crazily perched on the ledge!!

We passed minimal traffic that day, which is good because the road was very narrow. We passed several motorcyclists and side-by-side riders heading the opposite direction, and we passed a few bicyclists, too. The strangest vehicle we encountered was a full-size truck with a big camper shell pulling a large enclosed trailer. Unfortunately, it was going the same direction as we were, so we slowly followed it for a few miles until we could get to a spot where we could finally pass them. It was such a crazy sight on this narrow, winding road!

The road improved once again towards the end of the drive, and the scenery became more green. We both loved the long, scenic drive so much!

The new growth of trees in front of the burnt trees was
such a visual contrast of color, and it represented true elements
of nature and its renewal over time. 

We reached the highway on the western side of the Magruder Corridor Road around 5:30pm, 8 full hours later from when we were at the top of the pass that morning. Thankfully, everything with the Jeep worked great on the drive, and we had no problems, which was a relief!

We drove to the Red River Hot Springs Resort, checked into our cabin room, and ate our dinner poolside. It was a cute place run by the family who owns it. After dinner, we soaked in the hot pool, and then played games in our room by the light of our headlamps until we went to bed. Our cabin room didn't have electricity or running water, but a nearby outhouse did, which was nice--it was a heated room with a flushing toilet in it!

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the Lodge, checked out, and then went on an extended drive to nearby Dixie and Elk City, both very quaint towns, before driving towards Grangeville and then taking a connecting road to drive back to Salmon via the Lolo Pass highway. It was a noisy, long drive in the Jeep (highway driving in a vehicle without windows is always noisy), but the return trip was faster than the Magruder drive the previous day, and we made it home safely that night. We both enjoyed observing God's beautiful country, and seeing roads and places we'd never been to in Idaho before. And it crossed off yet another bucket list item for Josh this summer!

Red River