Overlanding

Idaho

Why Idaho hands a vehicle more forest road than almost any other state

Idaho is 61.9 percent federal land. The Congressional Research Service counts 32.8 million federal acres inside a state of 52.9 million, a share beaten only by Nevada and Utah. Most of that ground is forest rather than desert: the Forest Service holds 20,451,561 acres here, and only Alaska and California hold more. The Bureau of Land Management holds another 11,768,027, which it rounds on its own pages to nearly 12 million acres, nearly one fourth of the state.

The relief decides everything else. The U.S. Geological Survey puts the high point at 12,662 feet on Borah Peak, the low point at 710 feet where the Snake River leaves the state in Nez Perce County, and the approximate mean elevation at 5,000 feet. NOAA says the higher elevations of northern and central Idaho take up to four times the rain and snow of the shielded southern lowlands, that the majority of it falls from November through May, and that annual snowfall runs from about 10 to 20 inches in the southern lowlands to more than 100 inches in the mountains.

For a driver that means two calendars and two kinds of road. In the south the Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway is a 103-mile graveled crossing that the BLM closes from the first snowfall until Memorial Day weekend. In the north the Magruder Road Corridor threads 101 miles of one-lane dirt between the Selway-Bitterroot and the 2,366,757-acre Frank Church-River of No Return, the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 states and closed to every motor vehicle. Our sum of the BLM’s own route data adds more than 10,000 miles of BLM road and trail open to motor vehicles on top of the forest system.

Idaho by the numbers

Of Idaho is federal land 1: 61.9%; 32,785,766 of 52,933,120 acres, as of September 30, 2024. Only Nevada and Utah have a larger share
Acres of national forest 1: 20.5M; Only Alaska and California hold more Forest Service land than Idaho
Acres of BLM public land, by the agency’s own count 8: 12M; BLM Idaho says nearly one fourth of the state. The Congressional Research Service counts 11,768,027
Miles of BLM route managed for motor vehicles, as a floor 5: 10,004; Roads and trails recorded for public or limited public motorized use in the BLM’s national route data
Borah Peak, the highest point in Idaho 2: 12,662 ft; Custer County. The lowest point is 710 feet, on the Snake River in Nez Perce County
Approximate mean elevation 3: 5,000 ft; From the USGS table of extreme and mean elevations by state
Acres in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness 21: 2.37M; The largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48. No motor vehicle may enter it
Federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 6: 329; 280 Forest Service, 39 BLM, 7 Army Corps and 3 National Park Service. 220 can be booked ahead

The ground and who manages it

The Congressional Research Service splits Idaho’s 32.8 million federal acres among five agencies: the Forest Service with 20,451,561 acres, the BLM with 11,768,027, the National Park Service with 512,086, the Fish and Wildlife Service with 51,002 and the Department of Defense with 3,090. The Forest Service share is the one that shapes a trip here. It is run through the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in the north, the Nez Perce-Clearwater, the Payette, the Boise, the Salmon-Challis, the Sawtooth and the Caribou-Targhee, with parts of the Bitterroot and the Wallowa-Whitman reaching across the state line.

The big blocks are genuinely big. The Salmon-Challis covers over 4.3 million acres of east-central Idaho. The Boise spans over 2.5 million and the Payette over 2.3 million. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area holds 756,000 acres and three wilderness areas, and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, shared with Oregon, holds 652,488 acres around what the Forest Service calls the deepest river gorge in North America. Four forests share the Frank Church-River of No Return: the Salmon-Challis, Payette, Nez Perce-Clearwater and Bitterroot.

BLM Idaho runs its ground from four district offices, in Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, with field offices at Four Rivers, Bruneau, Owyhee in Marsing, Cottonwood, Coeur d’Alene, Challis, Salmon, Pocatello, Upper Snake, Jarbidge, Burley and Shoshone. Among its holdings are the 485,000-acre Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, which the agency calls home to the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America, and its half of Craters of the Moon, which the BLM describes as a 750,000-acre monument managed jointly with the Park Service.

The Park Service counts seven units in Idaho, among them Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, City of Rocks National Reserve and Nez Perce National Historical Park, which takes in 38 places important to the nimíipuu. One more kind of land catches visitors out. Idaho’s endowment trust land is managed first for financial return to public schools; the Department of Lands says recreation is supported as a secondary use, subject to closures and to rules of its own.

01Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (Forest Service): 2,366,757 acres, the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48, closed to motor vehicles
02Salmon-Challis National Forest: over 4.3 million acres
03Boise National Forest: over 2.5 million acres
04Payette National Forest: over 2.3 million acres
05Sawtooth National Recreation Area (Forest Service): 756,000 acres and three wilderness areas
06Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve: 750,000 acres by the BLM’s count, managed with the Park Service
07Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (Forest Service): 652,488 acres, shared with Oregon
08Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (BLM): 485,000 acres

Source 1

Seasons: two calendars in one state

NOAA describes a state split by elevation. The low southern basins sit behind mountains on both sides and get little moisture, while the higher ground of northern and central Idaho takes up to four times as much rain and snow. Total annual precipitation at long-term stations runs from more than 40 inches at some northern mountain sites to less than 10 inches in the southwest, the statewide average is 23.7 inches, and the majority of it arrives from November through May. Snowfall runs from about 10 to 20 inches a year in the southern lowlands to more than 100 inches in the mountains.

That is why the same month means different things at either end of the state. The BLM closes the Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway from the first snowfall until Memorial Day weekend, and by summer most passenger vehicles can drive it. In the north the Forest Service says the Lolo Motorway is open and free of snow generally from July through September, sometimes longer, and that the Elk City Wagon Road is restricted to summer, late June through September, by snow at higher elevations. The Magruder Road Corridor is the extreme case: its high ground is at 7,920 feet and snow closes it for most of the year.

Two more dates matter. The Loop Road at Craters of the Moon generally closes to vehicles in November and reopens in April or May, and its campground follows the road. Under Idaho law, studded tires are prohibited on public highways between May 1 and September 30, which is a fair outside guide to how long winter driving lasts here.

Fire season has a calendar of its own. Idaho runs a Closed Fire Season from May 10 through October 20, when burning on state and private land is regulated by permit and the BLM issues an annual prevention order for the public land it administers.

Source 4

What Idaho asks of a vehicle

Clearance and width, more often than low range. The Forest Service calls the Magruder Road Corridor rough, steep and winding with a few turnouts, suitable for high-clearance vehicles, pickup trucks, motorcycles and mountain bikes, and not recommended for low-clearance vehicles, motor homes or vehicles towing trailers. Its guide to the Lolo Motorway says the same thing in plainer words: the road is one lane with nothing more than what nature supplies as a surface, some stretches hold big rocks that can scrape the underside of a low-clearance vehicle, and it is best to drive a tough vehicle with high clearance and good tires. On the Elk City Wagon Road the Forest Service says high-clearance vehicles travel the route well although passenger cars can make the trip if driven with caution.

Range second. The Lolo guide states that there are no gas stations, stores, developed water sources or other services along the road, and tells drivers to pack a forest map, spare tire, food, water and gas. The Elk City brochure says there is no gas on the route and lists Kooskia, Harpster, Grangeville and Elk City as the places to fill up. The BLM says there are no services along the Owyhee Uplands byway, that they are available in Jordan Valley and Grand View, and that a round trip from Boise is about 250 miles and a full day.

The state adds two pieces of equipment by law. From May 10 through October 20, whether or not fire restrictions are in force, every internal combustion engine must have a properly installed, maintained and working spark arrester, and operators of motorcycles, trail bikes, all-terrain vehicles and similar machines must carry one serviceable shovel and a water container of at least one gallon.

Where four-wheel drive is named, the agencies name it. The BLM says two-wheel drive is enough to reach the Bruneau Canyon Overlook and the top of the Murphy Hot Springs Grade, but recommends a four-wheel drive with clearance for the run from Murphy to the overlook, and it says the network of primitive roads in the BLM backcountry at Craters of the Moon is for motorists with high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Source 32

Passes and routes

Magruder Road Corridor

7,920 ft 101 miles

Red River, east of Elk City, to Darby, Montana

The forest’s scenic drives page calls it a primitive 101 mile road built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Its corridor page calls the road rough, steep and winding, with a few turnouts for passing, gives the elevation as 7,920 feet, and expects an average of 12 to 15 miles per hour, six to eight hours from Red River to Darby without rest stops. The road runs between two wilderness areas and the boundary is at its edge: motorized and mechanized travel is not permitted in designated wilderness, so stay on the road. 29

Vehicle
High clearance. Not recommended for low-clearance vehicles, motor homes or vehicles towing trailers

Season
Summer only. Snow closes the high ground for most of the year
Lolo Motorway, Forest Road 500

73 miles of historic motorway; 119 miles Kamiah to Powell

Kamiah and US 12 at Powell, along the ridges above the Lochsa River

A low-standard road the Civilian Conservation Corps finished in 1934, following the general route of the Nez Perce Lolo Trail. The Forest Service guide gives 73 miles from Canyon Junction to Powell Junction as the historic motorway and 119 miles for the whole drive from Kamiah to Powell. There are no gas stations, stores or developed water sources on it, lightning storms are common in July and August, and snow can come early. 32

Vehicle
High clearance and good tires. Towing trailers or driving RVs is not advised on many stretches

Season
Open and free of snow generally from July through September, sometimes longer
Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway

103 miles

Jordan Valley, Oregon, to State Highway 78 near Grand View

Known locally as the Mud Flat Road, and the one graded crossing of the Owyhee Plateau. The BLM’s visitor page gives 103 miles and a round trip from Boise of about 250 miles and a full day; the 2016 byway guide counts 91 miles in Idaho and 12 in Oregon, and the Idaho byways page 92 and 12. Short grades reach 12 percent. There are no services along the byway, and the guide says to carry plenty of gasoline, bottled water, a properly inflated spare with a lug wrench and jack, extra food and clothing, and a map that shows land ownership. All vehicles stay on the roadway and must have registered plates, and ATVs are not allowed on it. 13

Vehicle
Graveled and mainly one and one-half lanes wide. Most passenger vehicles can drive it in summer, and rain makes it treacherously slick

Season
The BLM’s visitor page closes it from the first snowfall until Memorial Day weekend; the byway guide calls it usually impassable from late November through April because of snow
Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway and Adventure Road

7,368 ft 36 miles

A loop from Tendoy on State Highway 28, 19 miles south of Salmon

A loop through the Lemhi Valley that follows the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail over Lemhi Pass. Three segments: the Lemhi back road, the Warm Springs Wood Road up to the pass, and the Agency Creek road down. The BLM describes a gain and loss of 4,000 feet with grades at times approaching 20 percent, asks for a minimum of three hours, warns that parts traverse steep exposed slopes with no guardrails, and notes that it can snow year-round at 8,600 feet. 15

Vehicle
Single-lane gravel with pullouts. Passenger vehicles with good tires can drive it safely; buses, RVs and trailers are not recommended on the Agency Creek road

Season
Normally free of snow from early June through October
Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway

102 miles

Glenns Ferry and the Snake River crossing to Bonneville Point, southeast of Boise

Three parts that follow the main Oregon Trail from the Three Island Crossing to Boise, with wagon ruts visible along much of the route. The BLM says to allow eight hours from Boise including the stops, that high-clearance vehicles may be needed on the access roads off the byway, and to avoid those access roads when they are wet or muddy. 11

Vehicle
Paved and gravel roads. Four-wheel drive is not needed on the byway itself
Custer Motorway

Sunbeam on State Highway 75 to Challis, by the ghost town of Custer

Forest Road 013 leaves Highway 75 at the Sunbeam Dam overlook, 11 miles east of Stanley and 42 miles west of Challis, and runs about 11 miles to Custer #1 Campground above the Custer townsite. The state park at the Land of the Yankee Fork interprets the road, the ghost towns of Custer, Bonanza and Bayhorse and the Yankee Fork gold dredge. The Forest Service publishes no length or season for the motorway, so neither is given here. 34
Elk City Wagon Road

53 miles

Harpster on State Highway 13 to Elk City

A single-lane, mostly unpaved road built in 1894 and 1895 along the Southern Nez Perce Trail, marked at each mile with brown and white signs. The Forest Service allows four to six hours at 10 to 15 miles per hour, warns of few turnouts and tight switchbacks, and does not recommend large recreational vehicles or vehicles towing trailers. There is no fuel and there are no campgrounds on the route, though there are places to pull off and pitch a tent. 33

Vehicle
High-clearance vehicles travel it well; passenger cars can make it if driven with caution

Season
Snow at higher elevations restricts travel to summer, late June through September
Sawtooth Scenic BywayPaved

8,701 ft 116 miles

Shoshone north through Ketchum to the Sawtooth Valley

State Highway 75 runs north through lava deposits and farmland, then follows the Big Wood River past the Boulder and Smoky mountains and climbs to Galena Summit at 8,701 feet. The USGS elevation surface reads 8,697 feet at the same gap. From the summit the road drops into the Sawtooth Valley with the Sawtooth and White Cloud mountains in front of it. 24
Ponderosa Pine Scenic BywayPaved

7,056 ft 131 miles

Stanley to Boise on State Highway 21

From Stanley the route crosses Banner Summit at 7,056 feet, descends through the Salmon-Challis National Forest into the Grandjean area with the Sawtooth Wilderness on one side and the Frank Church-River of No Return on the other, then follows the Payette River through the Boise National Forest to the capital. 24
Salmon River Scenic BywayPaved

162 miles

Stanley to Challis, then north on US 93 to the Montana border

The route begins in Stanley on State Highway 75 and follows the East Fork of the Salmon River to Challis, crossing a corner of the Sawtooth National Forest, then continues north through the Salmon-Challis National Forest. It is the paved spine of central Idaho and the road most of the dirt in this guide hangs off. 24
Craters of the Moon Loop RoadPaved

7 miles

A loop from the visitor center on US 20 and US 26, near Arco

The paved loop reaches the craters, spatter cones and trails in the Park Service half of a monument built over the Great Rift, a 52-mile crack in the earth’s crust. The Lava Flow Campground closes to vehicle access with the road and reopens with it; camping is not allowed at the visitor center or in the parking areas along the loop, and a free permit is needed to snow camp in winter. 39

Vehicle
Any car. High-clearance four-wheel drive for the primitive roads in the BLM backcountry

Season
Generally closes to vehicles in November and reopens in April or May
Idaho Centennial Road and the Bruneau Canyon Overlook

Bruneau and Murphy Hot Springs, on the desert south of the Snake River

The 900-mile Idaho Centennial Trail was designated the state trail in 1990 and is mostly two-track road across this part of the desert. The overlook it passes looks into what the BLM’s page for it calls the Grand Canyon of southwest Idaho: the opposite rim is 1,300 feet away, the drop from rim to riverbed is 800 feet, and the canyon runs 60 miles. 16

Vehicle
Two-wheel drive reaches the overlook and the top of the Murphy Hot Springs Grade. Four-wheel drive with clearance from Murphy to the overlook

Rules worth knowing

The BLM organises Idaho into four districts: BLM Idaho runs district offices at Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, with field offices at Four Rivers, Bruneau, Owyhee, Cottonwood, Coeur d’Alene, Challis, Salmon, Pocatello, Upper Snake, Jarbidge, Burley and Shoshone. Its recreation pages are the index to the back country byways in this guide, and the field office is who to ask about a road. 9
The Owyhee Uplands byway closes with the first snow: The BLM gives the byway as 103 miles on its visitor page, 91 in Idaho plus 12 in Oregon in its 2016 guide, and 92 plus 12 on the byways page; all three are the agency’s. It is a graveled road mainly one and a half lanes wide that most passenger vehicles can drive in summer, with short grades of up to 12 percent, and it is seasonally closed from the first snowfall until Memorial weekend. All motor vehicles must have registered plates and all-terrain vehicles are not allowed on it. A round trip from Boise is about 250 miles and a full day. 12
The Lewis and Clark byway climbs 4,000 feet in 36 miles: A 36-mile loop from Tendoy, 19 miles south of Salmon on Idaho 28, with 4,000 feet of gain and loss and grades at times approaching 20 percent. It is single-lane gravel with pullouts, safe for passenger vehicles with good tires, and buses, RVs and trailers are not recommended on the Agency Creek road. Normally free of snow from early June through October, three hours minimum, no guardrails on the exposed slopes, and it can snow year round at 8,600 feet. 14
Two-wheel drive reaches the Bruneau overlook, but not from Murphy: The BLM says two-wheel drive vehicles are sufficient to reach the Bruneau Canyon Overlook and the top of the Murphy Hot Springs grade, but recommends four-wheel drive with clearance if you are travelling from Murphy to the overlook. From the rim, the opposite side is 1,300 feet away and the riverbed 800 feet below, near the northern end of a 60-mile canyon. 17
Craters of the Moon is two agencies and one rift: The BLM’s Craters of the Moon is a 750,000-acre geologic area managed jointly with the Park Service’s monument and preserve, and its central feature is the Great Rift, a 52-mile crack in the earth’s crust. A network of primitive roads in the BLM backcountry offers driving for high-clearance four-wheel drives, while the seven-mile Loop Road on the Park Service side is paved. 18
The Birds of Prey area is 485,000 acres above the Snake: The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area covers 485,000 acres and holds what the BLM calls the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America. It is an hour from Boise and it is the most rewarding short trip in southwest Idaho for anyone who would rather look than climb. 19
The Salmon-Challis is the forest around the Frank Church: The Salmon-Challis National Forest covers the high country of east central Idaho around the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, and its Challis area holds the Custer Motorway and the mining country above Stanley. The forest publishes no length or season for the Custer Motorway, so this guide states neither. 20
The Sawtooth NRA is 756,000 acres and three wildernesses: The Sawtooth National Recreation Area consists of 756,000 acres and is home to three wilderness areas, the Sawtooth, the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds and the Hemingway-Boulders. The wilderness boundaries are what stop a road, and in this part of Idaho they stop a lot of them. 22
In the Sawtooth NRA the limit is ten days, not fourteen: The recreation area’s occupancy order, in force from 19 June 2026 through 31 December 2031, prohibits occupying a campsite in a developed campground or designated dispersed area for more than 10 days in any 30-day period. Outside those areas it is 10 days in 30 from 1 May to 15 September and 16 days in 30 from 16 September to 30 April. It is stricter than the general Idaho forest rule and it is the one that applies here. 23
The Boise is 2.5 million acres: The Boise National Forest spans over 2.5 million acres of forest and grassland, immediately north and east of the state’s largest city. It is the forest most Idaho trips start in, and its road network carries more traffic than anything else in this guide outside the Sawtooths. 25
The Payette is 2.3 million acres in the west: The Payette National Forest in west central Idaho offers over 2.3 million acres. Between it and the Boise, the middle of the state is almost continuous public land, which is why a route can run for days here without leaving federal ground. 26
The Panhandle forests publish no acreage: The Idaho Panhandle National Forests cover the north of the state and publish no total acreage on their own pages, so this guide states none. What they do publish is a dense road network in wet, timbered country, which behaves nothing like the dry ranges to the south. 27
Hells Canyon is 652,488 acres and the deepest gorge in North America: The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area holds 652,488 acres and what the Forest Service calls the deepest river gorge in North America. It is administered from the Oregon side by the Wallowa-Whitman, which is worth knowing when you are looking for a road status on the Idaho bank. 28
The Nez Perce-Clearwater publishes its own scenic drives: The forest lists its scenic drives separately from the state and federal byway systems, which is where the Lolo Motorway and the Elk City Wagon Road sit. Those two are the historic roads of northern Idaho and they are described by the forest rather than by any byway programme. 30
The Lolo Motorway is one lane, and nature supplies the surface: It is 73 miles from Canyon Junction to Powell Junction on the historic segment, and 119 miles from Kamiah to Powell overall. The forest describes a narrow one-lane road with nothing more than what nature supplies as a surface, with stretches of big rock that can scrape a low vehicle, and advises a tough high-clearance vehicle with good tires. Towing trailers or driving RVs on many stretches is not advised. It is generally open and free of snow from July through September, and there are no fuel, stores, developed water or services on it. 31
The Challis area is the way to the Custer Motorway: From Stanley, drive 11 miles east on Highway 75 to the Sunbeam Dam overlook and turn onto forest road 013 for about 11 miles; from Challis it is 42 miles west on Highway 75 to the same overlook. That is the published access, and it is the practical route to the old mining country the state park interprets. 35
Seven Park Service units, and one of them is 38 places: The Park Service lists seven units in Idaho, and Nez Perce National Historical Park is itself 38 separate places important to the history and culture of the nimíipuu, spread across the north of the state and beyond it. It is a park you drive between rather than into. 37
The Craters loop road closes in November: The Lava Flow campground generally closes to vehicles when the Loop Road closes in November, and reopens in April or May when the road does. Camping is not allowed at the visitor centre or at any parking area along the Loop Road, and snow camping needs a free permit from the visitor centre. 38
City of Rocks is a reserve, not a park: City of Rocks National Reserve is managed jointly by the Park Service and Idaho state parks, which is why its rules read differently from either. It sits in the far south of the state on the California Trail, and the granite it is named for is the reason most people go. 40
A non-resident OHV sticker costs the same twelve dollars: From 1 January 2020 Idaho has required non-residents riding off-highway vehicles in the state to buy a sticker, at the same twelve dollars residents pay. As with the resident certificate of number, it covers motorbikes, all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles and specialty off-highway vehicles. A licensed full-size truck or van is none of those four, which is this guide’s reading of the department’s list rather than a quotation, because Idaho publishes no sentence exempting plated vehicles. 42
Land of the Yankee Fork interprets the mining country: The state park at Challis is the interpretive centre for the Yankee Fork mining district, which is the country the Custer Motorway runs through. It is the sensible first stop before driving up there, because the road network makes much more sense once you know what it was built to reach. 43
On endowment land, camp a quarter mile from livestock structures: The Department of Lands has established a no-camping buffer of a quarter mile around livestock handling structures in applicable management blocks. North of Lake Pend Oreille and the Clark Fork and Pend Oreille rivers, in game management unit 1, all overnight visitors must store food, rubbish and attractants in a locked hard-sided vehicle, camper or trailer, hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet out, or inside a working IGBC-approved electric fence. Endowment land exists to earn a return for beneficiaries, and recreation is allowed only so far as it does not interfere with that. 44
Fire restrictions apply regardless of who owns the ground: When fire restrictions are in effect they apply to all land within the designated area regardless of ownership, and must be followed by law. During the closed fire season, 10 May to 20 October, burning on state and private land is regulated through permits and the BLM issues an annual prevention order. Idaho Code also requires, throughout that same period and whether or not restrictions are in force, that every internal combustion engine carry a working spark arrester, and that operators of motorcycles, trail bikes and all-terrain vehicles carry a serviceable shovel and at least a gallon of water. 46
Fourteen days on BLM land, then 25 miles: BLM Idaho allows camping for up to 14 days in a 28-day period, in developed campgrounds and in undeveloped areas alike, before you move at least 25 miles from the original spot, and you may not return to that area for 14 days after the last visit. Camp at least 200 feet from water, use sites that have already been established, and in general keep within 100 feet of existing roads, vehicle ways and trails to reach a site. Dispersed camping may be closed or limited seasonally. 10
Forest stay limits are counted by the year, and shorter in the Sawtooth NRA: The Forest Service’s Northern Region order covers the Idaho Panhandle and Nez Perce-Clearwater forests: on national forests in Idaho you may not occupy a single site for more than 14 consecutive days in a calendar year, or any number of sites for more than 28 cumulative days. Across the state line in Montana the same order allows 16 and 32. In the Sawtooth National Recreation Area a separate order, in force to December 31, 2031, holds camping to 10 days in any 30-day period, rising to 16 days in 30 outside developed and designated areas between September 16 and April 30. 36
The OHV sticker, and what it does not cover: On January 1 of each year, every motorbike, ATV, UTV or specialty off-highway vehicle operated on public or private land in Idaho must be numbered to operate legally. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation puts the certificate of number at $12, with exemptions only for machines used solely for plowing snow or for agriculture. Since January 1, 2020 non-residents pay the same $12 for a sticker of their own; Idaho no longer accepts another state’s registration in its place. A licensed full-size truck or van is none of the four types the department lists, so the certificate of number is not asked of one. 41
Endowment trust land has its own camping rule: Idaho’s endowment land is managed first for financial return to public schools, and recreation is a secondary use. The state rule allows temporary camping in one location for up to 14 days within 28 consecutive days; to stay longer, the camp, all equipment and all belongings move outside a five-mile radius of the prior site. Personal property may not be left unattended for more than 48 hours, the spot must not be posted closed to camping, and a campfire must sit in a ring no wider than three feet. The Department of Lands also sets a quarter-mile no-camping buffer around livestock handling structures in the management blocks it names, and requires bear-resistant food storage on endowment land north of Lake Pend Oreille. 45
Fire restrictions come in two stages, and Stage 2 moves vehicles: Idaho’s land agencies work from one interagency plan, and restrictions apply to federal, state, tribal and private land inside the boundary regardless of ownership. Stage 1 bans fires, campfires and stove fires except in a designated recreation site inside an owner-provided fire structure, and restricts smoking. Stage 2 bans wood and gas campfires everywhere and limits motorized vehicles to designated roads and trails, and from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. it bans chainsaw use, blasting, welding and grinding. A stove fueled only by liquid petroleum or propane stays legal in both stages. Stages are posted by area on the Department of Lands restrictions finder. 47
Studs have dates, and chains are for the passes: Idaho Code 49-948 prohibits studded tires on public highways between May 1 and September 30 each year, with a retractable-stud exception that only allows the studs to protrude between October 1 and April 30. The same statute’s chain provisions are written for commercial vehicles rather than for every passenger vehicle: when Lookout Pass or Fourth of July Pass on Interstate 90 or Lolo Pass on State Highway 12 is unsafe, the Transportation Department may require chains on commercial vehicles there, with advance notice, a safe place to pull out, and never on bare pavement. Any traction device that equals or exceeds chains may be used in their place. 48

How high is Idaho?

From Lewiston at 740 feet to Borah Peak at 12,662. Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.

Towns

Stanley Where State Highway 21 meets State Highway 75 in the Sawtooth Valley. The Salmon River and Ponderosa Pine scenic byways both start here, and the Custer Motorway leaves Highway 75 eleven miles east. 6,260 ft
Ketchum On State Highway 75 at the south end of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The Sawtooth Scenic Byway climbs north from here to Galena Summit. 5,844 ft
Arco Where US 20, US 26 and US 93 meet. The gateway town for Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and its Loop Road. 5,325 ft
Challis On the Salmon River Scenic Byway. BLM field office, and the north end of the Custer Motorway past the Land of the Yankee Fork interpretive center. 5,246 ft
McCall On Payette Lake north of Boise, in the Payette National Forest, which reaches east to the Frank Church-River of No Return. 5,013 ft
Elk City End of State Highway 14 and of the Elk City Wagon Road. The Forest Service calls it a small, full-service community with fuel; the Magruder corridor starts past Red River. 4,011 ft
Salmon Headquarters of the Salmon-Challis National Forest and a BLM field office. The BLM calls it a full-service community, and the Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway starts at Tendoy, 19 miles south. 3,941 ft
Twin Falls On I-84 above the Snake River canyon. BLM district office, with the Jarbidge Field Office, for the desert south of the highway. 3,733 ft
Grangeville On US 95 at the edge of the Camas Prairie. State Highway 14 runs east from here toward Elk City and the west end of the Magruder Road Corridor. 3,398 ft
Boise State capital on I-84. BLM Idaho state office and Boise District, with the Four Rivers and Bruneau field offices. State Highway 21, the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, runs from here to Stanley. 2,700 ft
Marsing On the Snake River southwest of Boise. The BLM’s Owyhee Field Office, which looks after the Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway, is in town. 2,297 ft
Coeur d’Alene On I-90 in the Panhandle. BLM district and field office, and the service town for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. 2,192 ft
Sandpoint Where US 95 meets US 2 north of Lake Pend Oreille. Endowment land north of the lake carries a grizzly bear food storage requirement. 2,101 ft
Riggins On US 95 where the Little Salmon meets the Salmon River, between the Payette and Nez Perce-Clearwater national forests and below the Hells Canyon rim. 1,806 ft
Kamiah On US 12 beside the Clearwater River. Supervisor’s office for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests and the western approach to the Lolo Motorway. 1,239 ft
Lewiston Where US 12 meets US 95 on the Snake River, close to the state’s low point of 710 feet. West end of the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway and a base for Hells Canyon. 740 ft

Passes, high roads and summits

Borah Peak The highest point in Idaho, in Custer County. No road to the top 12,662 ft
Galena Summit Sawtooth Scenic Byway: Shoshone north through Ketchum to the Sawtooth Valley 8,701 ft
Magruder Road Corridor Red River, east of Elk City, to Darby, Montana 7,920 ft
Lemhi Pass Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway and Adventure Road: A loop from Tendoy on State Highway 28, 19 miles south of Salmon 7,368 ft
Willow Creek Summit US 93 between Mackay and Challis, below the west face of Borah Peak 7,165 ft
Banner Summit Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway: Stanley to Boise on State Highway 21 7,056 ft

Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates), retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.

Sources for this page

Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Tables 1 and 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau, from U.S. Geological Survey data. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 366. Extreme and Mean Elevations by State. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Idaho State Climate Summary 2022 (NOAA Technical Report NESDIS 150-ID). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Ground Transportation Linear Features, public display. Sum of GIS_MILES by administrative state for routes managed for public or limited public motorized use.. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System and 3D Elevation Program point query. Elevation of the 3DEP surface at the GNIS coordinates of the named place, rounded to the nearest foot.. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Idaho state office, with the district office list. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Idaho Recreation Activities. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management, Idaho. Camping Guidelines on Public Land (2022), with the Idaho district and field office list. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Idaho Byways. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway (visitor page). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management, Idaho. Owyhee Uplands Back Country Byway guide, 2016 (PDF). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway and Adventure Road (visitor page). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management, Idaho. The Lewis and Clark Back Country Byway and Adventure Road, Tendoy, Idaho (BLM/ID/GI-15/006+1220, PDF). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Idaho Centennial Road/Trail. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Bruneau Canyon Overlook. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Salmon-Challis National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest. Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Sawtooth National Forest. Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Sawtooth National Forest. Sawtooth National Recreation Area: Occupancy and Use order, in force June 19, 2026 through December 31, 2031. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Sawtooth National Forest. Scenic Drives: the Sawtooth, Salmon River and Ponderosa Pine scenic byways. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Boise National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Payette National Forest. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Magruder Road Corridor. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Scenic Drives. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Lolo Trail Corridor, with the Lolo Motorway description. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Lewis and Clark on the Lolo Trail (guide to the Lolo Motorway, PDF). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Nez Perce National Forest. Travel the Elk City Wagon Road (brochure, PDF). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Salmon-Challis National Forest. Custer #1 Campground, on the Custer Motorway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Salmon-Challis National Forest. Challis Area. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Northern Region. Northern Region Camping and Target Restrictions, Pallet Prohibition (Order R1-2025-01). Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service. Idaho. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service. Visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Camping. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service. City of Rocks National Reserve. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. ATVs, UTVs and Motorbikes: the certificate of number and how the fees are used. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. Idaho to require non-resident sticker for OHVs beginning January 1, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. Land of the Yankee Fork State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Lands. Endowment Land and Recreation: camping information, livestock buffers and grizzly food storage. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Lands. IDAPA 20.05.01, Rules Pertaining to the Recreational Use of Endowment Land, Section 020. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Lands. Fire Restrictions Finder, with the 2026 Idaho Fire Restrictions Plan. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho Department of Lands. Understanding Stage 1 and 2 Fire Restrictions. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code Section 49-948, Restrictions as to tire equipment. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

Reviewed September 19, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.

Who manages Idaho

The agency on the sign decides where you can drive and where you can sleep. Choose one to see how much of the state it holds and what that means for a trip.

Idaho
61.9% 32,785,766 acres

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Table 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Federal land here means the five agencies shown; state, tribal and private land make up the rest of each bar.

The public land map of Idaho

Agency boundaries, the BLM and Forest Service roads and trails open to vehicles, wilderness, and BLM campgrounds. Select any point for who manages it.

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Layers

Federal land Who manages the ground, by agency

State and local land State forests, parks and wildlife areas, county and city land, nationwide

BLM roads and trails Routes managed for public motorized use

Forest roads and trails Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map

Wilderness BLM Wilderness and study areas, closed to vehicles

Camping and trailheads BLM campgrounds, OHV areas and trailheads

Base map

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Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

State land
County and city land
Regional agency or district
Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

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