Native Americans were honest , warm , and generous . From Lolo , Montana , travel west on HWY 12 for about 7 miles , where Lolo Hot Springs provides a nice place to stay with cabins , camping , or just soaking in the hot springs . Going another 25 miles will take you to Lolo Pass Visitor Center , located on the Idaho- Montana border . There you can find a rest area and interpretive center explaining the Expedition and the flight of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 trying to escape the US government . |
yet open enough you can see river and forest as far as the eye can see . Small streams busting their way through the timber here and there make the river even deeper , wider , and more scenic . |
hensible to them .β
Continuing west for 31 miles takes you to Orofino . It was here at Canoe Camp that the Nez Perce helped Lewis and Clark build canoes by a different method , by burning out the logs to make canoes . If you want to stay the night , Camp Correa is a beautiful Airbnb located just 5 miles on the other side of the river in Ahsahka . You will go by the 717- foot-deep Dworshak Dam . The North Fork of the Clearwater River feeds the Dam . Dworshak Reservoir is 800 feet deep and 54 miles long , with a catchment area of 2,440 square miles .
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Continuing west through the curvy mountain pass along the Lochsa River for 13 miles will take you to the Lochsa Lodge in Powell . There you can stay in a nice fully furnished cabin complete with water and electricity . If you want to be with nature , you can get a cabin without electricity or water and use the central shower facilities . Camping is also available at the campground overlooking the beautiful river . The lodge has a full restaurant to comfort the hunger pains the view of the windy river may have conjured up . Great food . What a way to make an amazing ride even better .
If you are a rider that doesn β t like curves , this will be torture . The next 100 miles is a winding road biker β s dream with 65 miles to the next resemblance of a town . Don β t expect any cell service . Long smooth sweeping curves are the norm . Don β t expect a straight part of the road . The river is clear with intermittent whitewater nestled at the bottom of steep tall mountains on both sides . There is thick forest on both sides ,
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Located 65 miles from Lochsa is where you can find Lowell . This is where the Selway and Lochsa rivers join to form the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River . Between Lowell and Kooskia ( pronounced koos-key ) you can find river rafting , Lochsa Historical Ranger Station , boat rental , sporting goods , Selway Falls , Visitor Centers , Kamiah Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center , Red River Hot Springs , and the First Indian Presbyterian Church . The Middle Fork of the Clearwater River joins the South Fork of the Clearwater to become the Clearwater River at Kooskia . Clearwater is a very appropriate name for this river .
Another 9 miles down the highway takes you to Kamiah ( pronounced kam-ee-eye ). Kamiah and Kooskia have motels , gas stations , campgrounds , and grocery stores . Kamiah , being larger , has more facilities . This is where Lewis and Clark spent four weeks ( May 14 to June 10 ) living among the Nez Perce on their return journey from the Oregon Coast . They spent the winter of 1805-1806 on the coast . Their excitement to return home was dampened by snow in the Bitterroot Mountains . They hunted , fished , and amused themselves , showing the Nez Perce Indians β the power of magnetism , the spyglass , compass , watch , air gun , and sundry other articles equally novel and incompre-
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Highway 12 continues meandering all the way to Lewiston , Idaho . The Clearwater meets the Snake River there . This is the lowest elevation in Idaho and shares a border with Washington at Clarkston , Washington . Go figure .
For a bonus ride for those up to it , follow HWY 12 to Lewiston and take HWY 128 for about a mile . to the β Old Spiral Highway .β It gains 2,000 feet in elevation and has 64 curves in 10 miles . Opened in 1917 , it was the route from Lewiston to the farmland to the north known as the Palouse for 60 years . It received an award for the best-engineered mountain road of its time . A new road was finished in 1977 and is now referred to as Lewiston Hill , or Lewiston Grade .
The route from Lolo to Lewiston is a very common motorcycle destination . You will find many riders going on the same route throughout the summer . What a pleasant breathtaking ride . CMA
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