Scenic Drives

Many of the Forest Service roads offer drives from one hour to an entire day to view wildlife and panoramic vistas of high peaks and valleys. Pick up a map from the Forest Service to plan trips and take necessary precautions for unexpected changes in weather and road conditions. Forest roads vary in condition from well maintained to primitive roads passable only by four-wheel drive vehicles. Check with the Forest Service for specific road conditions.

Nez Perce National Historic Trail - The Flight of the Nez Perce

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

Retrace the routes used by the Nez Perce Indians and their military pursuers in 1877. A brochure about the Nez Perce trail is available at the Forest Service offices in Dillon, Wisdom, and Wise River. The brochure describes the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail between Big Hole National Battlefield in Montana and Leadore, Idaho. A map shows the auto tour route in detail. The designated auto route stays on all-weather roads and allows you to experience the Nez Perce Trail from a distance. The auto tour route is passable for all types of vehicles. An alternative route exists from Lost Trail Pass on the Montana/Idaho border south to Salmon and Leadore, Idaho, along Montana Highway 93 and 28.

For those seeking the most authentic historic route, a rough two-lane road, connects Jackson, Montana and the Horse Prairie Valley. Examine the map carefully and watch for signs. You may want to take a more detailed Forest Service map. This route is usually passable from July to October. It's not recommended for motor homes or vehicles towing trailers.

Pioneer Mountains National Scenic Byway

Wise River Ranger District

On the 44-mile Pioneer Mountains National Scenic Byway (Forest Route 73) you can travel the length of the Pioneer Mountain range. Granite peaks topping 10,000 feet elevation are to the east, and gentler, forested terrain stretches out to the west. You'll see mountain meadows, lodgepole pine forests and broad "willow bottoms." The road gently ascends a 7,800-foot divide between the Wise River, flowing north, and Grasshopper Creek, flowing south. Interpretive sites along the byway tell travelers about the natural features and some of the interesting history of the Pioneer Mountains.

For much of the route you'll be in the scenic Wise River Valley. Here you'll fields of sagebrush on the high ground giving way to willows in the river bottoms. Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir cover the adjacent hillsides. From the road you may catch an occasional glimpse of moose, elk, mule deer, black bears, coyotes, or beavers. Early-day ranchers, miners and trappers used the northern section of the byway to transport their goods.

Going south, as the road rises and the valley narrows, look for the old railroad bed of the Montana Southern Railway, the last narrow-gauge railroad built in the United States. The railroad served the Elkhorn Mine, one of the largest ore-mill structures in the United States, and the town of Coolidge that grew up around the mill.