Steamboat Springs, Kingston, Idaho

July 12th, 2016-- 37 miles
I was leading the group with a GPS, a MVUM  Forest Service map and my smart phone with the Avenza pdf, Forest service map downloaded. The Avenza helped three times to keep us on the track, and the direction we desired. I'm not sure how the compass  works, because at camp, we don't have phone service, but Avenza was still tracking us.
We camped north of Kingston, 16 miles from the Exit 43, Interstate 90. Go north on Hwy 9, turning Left after 5 miles, at the Bumble Bee Campground sign, crossing the bridge and turning right on the Old River Road. Drive out 6 miles, then turn Left, after crossing another bridge, onto FS rd 400. Drive 5 more miles, where the paved road ends, you will find a Forest Service, dispersed camping spot.  It is at the fork of Steamboat creek, east and west forks.

For our ride of 37 miles and 6hrs, we headed south on FS rd 400, about 2.5-3 miles, to the Right on FS rd 257. There are a few dead-end trails off of this road, that was interesting to explore. Then we got on 1005 / 965 roads. (The roads are some times two tracks and a little bumpy, just the way we like it)

Then we got on the 803 trail, which winds along the side of the mountain. There are some dips, where creeks come down the hill, keep watch for the drop offs! At the intersection of 803A, we stopped for lunch.  Just a short time after heading out we came around the corner and saw a bull moose, 60ft ahead, right on the trail! We stopped to give it time to go off the trail, if he would like. When we rode on, we did see his tracks, but he had disappeared. Once on the road, we took 409A and 260 to Riley Saddle where we turned right on 900 for 8 miles back to camp. It was a great ride, seeing the moose was a bonus, and the rain didn't stop us.

Day 2 –54 miles                                                                                                                                                                     We headed up 2329 FS rd, to Grassy Mountain, an open area to see the views.  There are a couple areas which had been burned off in the past.  Spyglass Peak (gated) and Lookout, just around the corner, you can see for miles.

On 265 and over to Magee to see the Landing Strip, Ranger Station Historic Cabin. Built in 1922.  There is also a Forest Service Cabin that you may rent for a night. From camp it was 18 miles.

Then we went home on routes 534, 911 over to Leiberg Saddle.  My favorite trail was 260 over to Stull Saddle , then back to camp on 409, seeing valleys of forest, mountains, moss thick on the trees. We saw 2 Spruce hens. This leg of the day was 36 miles. Once again I used the Avenza map on the smart phone, it was very helpful at the numerous intersections along the way. Be sure you have a Forest Service MVUM map with you.

• INFORMATION>North Eastern Washington ATV club
  LOCATION>   NEAREST CITY=Kingston, Id   DIRECTIONS=North of interstate 90, read above
  AREA >   TYPE OF LAND=- forest, mountain  , OWNER=  Nat Forest
  QUALITY >  Pro-100s of miles / Con-can get confussing /  Length of stay-4 / Rating-stars-5 out of 5
  TERRAIN>  MILES OF TRAILS, hills /  forest / dust  /elevation           TRAIL MAINTENCE   - Yes   NEAR BY TRAILS-4th of July Pass, Wallace, Id, St Joe River area, St. Maries, Id 
  REGULATIONS> Permit required –some/ Campinp-Dry camping and Forest service campgrounds /whip-no / helmets req.-age / width req.-some trails
  FEE> Camping / Entry-no
  KEY SERVICES> Camping / Gasoline / Diesel / First Aid /  Water /  Dump/ Propane / Food=Exxon Gas Station @ Exit 43
  GPS POINTS>I just used maps
  SIDE TRIPS>4th of July Pass, Wallace, Id, St Joe River area, St. Maries, Id                   CONTACTS>Forest Service Office in Coeur d’Alene, Id.
  

July 4th to Harrison, Id

65 miles

We staged from the July 4th Exit on I- 90
We headed south on FS 614 to the town of Harrison for lunch.  We left at 10 am and returned at 4pm.  The road is partial well maintained, some current logging operations, and a few rough spots along the way. The road signs are well marked. Once we came to the paved #318 road (Blue Lake Road) , we turned right toward town.   We crossed over the old bridge,  Anderson Lake Bridge, where the Trail Head is for bicycle trail crosses the road.

We took the gravel road around Anderson Lake, to a intersection of Bell Road. The original directions said to go Left, up the hill. This way is all gravel and keeps you off the Highway. Then turn Right on Vandussen Rd. Turn Right on Skyline Drive, coming down the hill to a Y, go right, then left and you will see the main street. We ate at the Gate Way Marina for lunch, but there are a few other places to choose from and interesting shops in town.
After lunch we headed north on Hwy 97, turning right on to Bell Canyon Road and back around Anderson Lake, We probably cut off 5 miles, from our original arrival trail.
The previous day we rode down 918 trail, and came around the corner in time to see  a black bear fall down the 30ft tree, to the ground and run away. He purposely came down that fast to get away from us.

4th of July Pass, Coeur d’Alene, Id

2 Days

Thank you to all involved in keeping these trails open for all to ride and enjoy the beautiful Idaho wilderness.

July 7th 2016-20 mi
July 8th 2016 38 mi
Exit 28 on I-90. There is a super large Trail Head , off the ramp to the north. We went north on the ATV trails and some forest service road. The trails are well groomed and maintained. We had a GPS,  FS paper maps and Avenza on the smart phone to track us. I downloaded the free Forest Service MVUM (Motor Vehicle Use Map)

We enjoyed each day of riding. We visited the warming shack, off the trail of 3220,  picked huckleberries, watched a deer, watching us, and drove through a lined path of Bear Grass along the trail.
We just made several loops depending on how long we wanted to stay out.

Local Clubs built this amazing warming hut, to be used by Atv’er, Snowmobilers. They have dried wood for a wood stove fire, maps, and benches. A big pat on the back to this amazing volunteers: North Idaho ATV Club, Back Country ATV Assn. Inc., Panhandle Trail Riders Association, Coeur d;Alene Snowmobile club and Montana Snowmobile Club.
INFORMATION>
LOCATION>   NEAREST CITY= Coeur d' Alene, Id  DIRECTIONS=I-90  MM28, Trail Head parking on north side
AREA >   TYPE OF LAND= forest, mountain  , OWNER=   Nat Forest
QUALITY >  Pro real trails, several miles of looped routes / Con /  Length of stay-1-2 / Rating-4 stars
TERRAIN>  MILES OF TRAILS, hills /  forest / dust /elevation   
TRAIL MAINTENCE   Yes   NEAR BY TRAILS-  Numerous
REGULATIONS> Permit required- possible / Camping - on Forest Service land or private /whip -no/ helmets req. age / width req. in places
FEE> Entry-no
KEY SERVICES> Camping / Gasoline / Diesel / First Aid /  Water /  Dump / Food=15 miles to Coeur d'Alene
GPS POINTS>
SIDE TRIPS> In all directions, check out Internet
CONTACTS> National Forest Service in Coeur d'Alene, maps avaible or download free Avenza maps of the area

Chewelah, Washington, Colville National Forest Cottonwood Loop Trail

36 miles
  We left Chewelah, (NE Wa) heading east on Flowery Trail, going east for 10 miles to the staging area. Which is the Sno Park loop off to the right side of the road.
  * The day before I down Avenza.com/pdf-maps. This is a wonderful tool if you have a mobile device. Once you down load Avenza, you can go on to the Forest Service web site, and download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) for the area you would like to ride. This is a free map from the Forest Service and instructions are on their map riding page. There are other maps you can purchase. It put the Cottonwood trail right on the screen and I could tell exactly where we were, and at each intersection.
 

Then we went back to the Cottonwood Divide Road, (4342), which is at the staging area.  This is a rough Forest Service road. You will climb in elevation 1,000 feet during the ride. After 7.5 mi we came to a Y , at turned Left on to 3540. At odometer reading 17, you arrive at Middle Fork Callispel Rd, where there is dispersed camping. We turned Left, we wanted to ride the official ATV trail at Middle Fork, but it was closed.
This is where the Avenza map comes in handy. The trail is more like a road. There are numerous roads which are dead ends or continuous roads. We arrived at the Flowery Trail road, turning Left,  onto the  highway- 8 miles  driving back to the staging area.  It is legal to drive on this road. We would rather ride on trails throughout the woods, but it seems like those in charge would rather have us ride on the roads in Washington state.

Chewelah, Washington, Colville National Forest Cottonwood Loop Trail

  June 26, 2016 36 miles
We left Chewelah, heading east on Flowery Trail, going east for 10 miles to the staging area. Which is the Sno Park loop off the right side of the road.
The day before I down Avenza.com/pdf-maps. This is a wonderful tool if you have a mobile device. Once you down load Avenza, you can go on to the Forest Service web site, and download the Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) for the area you would like to ride. This is a free map from the Forest Service and instructions are on their map riding page. There are other maps you can purchase. It put the Cottonwood trail right on the screen and I could tell exactly where we were, and at each intersection.
Then we went back to the Cottonwood Divide Road, (4342), which is at the staging area.  This is a rough Forest Service road. You will climb in elevation 1,000 feet during the ride. After 7.5 mi we came to a Y , at turned Left on to 3540. At odometer reading 17, you arrive at Middle Fork Callispel Rd, where there is dispersed camping. We turned Left, we wanted to ride the ATV trail at Middle Fork, but it was closed.

This is where the Avenza map comes in handy. This is where it is more like a road. There are numerous roads which are dead ends or continous roads. We arrived at the Flowery Trail road, turning Left, 8 miles highway driving back to the staging area.  It is legal to drive on this road. We would rather ride on trails throughout the woods, but it seems like those in charge would rather have us ride on the roads in Washington state.

 

INFORMATION>
LOCATION>   NEAREST CITY=Chewelah, Wa   DIRECTIONS=Main interesection of Chewelah, Flowery Trail-East 10 mi
AREA >   TYPE OF LAND= forest, mountain  , OWNER=  Nat Forest
QUALITY >  Pro Elevation / Con-  road riding /  Length of stay 1 / Rating-stars 1                                                          TERRAIN>  MILES OF TRAILS,  forest / dust / water crossing /elevation                                                                        NEAR BY TRAILS- none
FEE> Camping Boondocking and in town / Entry- no
KEY SERVICES> Camping / Gasoline / Diesel / First Aid /  Water /  Dump / Food=Chewelah, Wa
CONTACTS>Found into on line

Johns Canyon , Mexican Hat, Ut

 
47 miles, April 18, 2016

We headed north from Mexican Hat on Hwy 163, turning to the left (towards Gooseneck State Park) on road 261, for a short distance, then left on 316 a tar road. Turn right at MM 3. which is Johns Canyon road. There are 2 boondocking spots, the second one is flatter.

We headed out at 9:30 am directley onto Johns Canyon Road.  The first part of the road is flat with a bluff off to the right.  As you head on the trail travels closer to the rim of the San Juan River and the mountain/bluff
We came to the waterfall at GPS #  Is is a hard rock ledge with water flowing over. Just past this is the Y, to the right is Johns Canyon.  This is where the creek flows to the waterfall.  We didn't  go very far and came to a dead end, a wilderness study area.  Too bad because there are numerous petroglyphs along the creek/canyon.

We went back to the Y and took a right.  We saw numerous petroglyphs along this trail.
We came to the massive rock slide (see photo below), the trail has been cleared. We kept going enjoying the petroglyphs, rock formations and the creek at the bottom of the ravine. We arrived at the end of the trail and the odometer was at 25.  It was 8 miles back to the Y and at the end of the trail we had gone 47 miles at 5pm 

We took a side trip to Gooseneck State Park

INFORMATION>
LOCATION>   NEAREST CITY= Mexican Hat, Ut 5 mi  DIRECTIONS= north from Mexican Hat on Hwy 163, turning to the left (towards Gooseneck State Park) on road 261, for a short distance, then left on 316 a tar road. Turn right at MM 3. which is Johns Canyon road.
AREA >   TYPE OF LAND=-desert, , OWNER=  BLM
QUALITY >  Pro-beautiful terrain / Con-non /  Length of stay-1 / Rating-stars3
TERRAIN>  MILES OF TRAILS, 47 miles with dust / water crossing /    TRAIL MAINTENCE   / SQ. MILE AREA -yes/  NEAR BY TRAILS- Bluff, Ut River house ruin
REGULATIONS> Permit required / Campin /whip / helmets req. / width req.-None
FEE> Camping -RV park in Blanding, 42 mi or Boondocking at Johns Canyon
KEY SERVICES> Camping boondocking on Johns Canyon road /  Water, Diesel, Gasoline- 5 miles away at Mexican Hat /  First Aid-Blanding, Ut-42 mi /  Dump-Campground in Bluff / Food=Blanding, Ut 42 mi
GPS POINTS>
SIDE TRIPS> Gooseneck state park
CONTACTS>BLM