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Pull Over Info:
Between Boise and Grangeville are some great locations to learn about the history of the area. We will follow the North Fork of the Payette River to McCall and then pickup the Salmon River around Riggins. The Payette Scenic Byway is a great road with lots of scenery. McCall and Payette Lake are beautiful resort communities. Riggins is known worldwide as a major whitewater destination. The road along the Salmon River has a number of historical sites to view. The primary road is excellent most of the way. Lots of places for turnouts and photos.
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Hotel and Area Information:
The Super 8 motel in Grangeville is an award-winning lodge located directly off of HW-95. Dinner at Ernie’s Steakhouse is a short walk.
Super 8 Grangeville
Explore Grangeville
Old Whitebird Grade: Graph
Old Whitebird Grade: Old Vs New Road
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| Our route will take us from the Marriott Courtyard in Meridian to Grangeville. This leg is about 200 miles of beautiful road along rivers bordered by forest for most of the way. We will stop in McCall for lunch and gas and again in Riggins for some sight seeing. As we travel north out of Riggins we pass from Mountain Time to Pacific Time. About 20 miles out of Riggins we will divert from the main road to the Old HW-95 along the river, through the town of Whitebird and then up the old Whitebird grade. This road is narrow, steep, and has enough switchbacks to equal 37 complete circles as we weave our way up the grade. We gain about 2150 feet in altitude in a little over 7 miles of road at a gradient of 5.4%. The road is paved but not terribly well maintained. There is some loose gravel in the switchbacks and often domestic animals are on the road so caution is advised. Once on top we can either head to Grangeville on the “improved” highway or stay on the old road and see some of the sights along the old route. We exit at the Johnson Cut-off and then head into Grangeville for the evening. |
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