Also known as the Macgruder Road.  120 miles of Forest Service road follows the historic Nez Perce trail, through wilderness, with no services.  A few side-spurs are unmaintained 4WD roads, but it is generally an easy route.

http://www.jeffhead.com/magruder/

The Lolo Motorway is a rougher road and is also in the area (119 miles of no services).  This route is South of Hwy 12 and the Lolo road is North of Hwy 12.  They would make a fun 240 mile off-highway loop.  See the Lolo Motorway thread for details on it.

Craig

We drove both roads with Backroad Drivers Northwest about 2 years ago.  We started in Elk City, Idaho and drove the Magruder Road to Darby, Montana.  Unfortunately it was snowing and clouds blocked our view of the mountains, but the snow added something special to the trip.  We spent the night in Missoula and drove the Lolo Motorway from Lolo Pass to Kamiah, Idaho, again in the snow, but we did enjoy some great scenery.  By the way, it snowed on us in September!  Elevations hit 8,000 feet on both roads.  I highly recommend the trip and suggest downloading or ordering the free brochures.  Our trip reports are available at the BDNW page under Files, Archived Trip Reports. 

Yeah, that sounds GREAT. It would be really nice to have the time to camp along the way and spend several days making the loop. I have been over Highway 12 twice and the scenery in the area is wonderful.

Brian

Check out the brochure for virtually all the information you will need.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/LewisClark/Assets/driving_lolom.pdf

Nate -- this is the Nez Perce / Macgruder Rd. Thread.  Their is another thread for the Lolo Motorway that includes a link to the USFS brochure in it.  I'd give the USFS a call to find out when the road is snow free.

Craig

Edit:  Whoops, looks like Jerry already posted the link to the brochure.

The Magruder Road Corridor is generally north of and runs parallel with the Southern Nez Perce Trail, but the two are usually far apart and separated by dense forest.   The Elk City Wagon Road, on the other hand, closely follows the Indian trail for much of the way between Stites and Elk City.  Arrange to reach Elk City in the early afternoon and drive the wagon road before dinner.  Start the Magruder the next day. 

Brochure for the Magruder Road Corridor

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/nezperce/maps/brochures/magruder.pdf

Brochure for the Elk City Wagon Road

http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/nezperce/maps/brochures/elkcitywagonroad.pdf

General Information about Elk City and vicinity

http://web.camasnet.com/~elkcity/busdir.htm#Dixie%20Motel%20and%20Mercantile

Is someone planning a trip here or is this more of a general conversation about the trip?

I hope this turns into a trip. It looks like an excellent loop and the kind of experience I really like.

A 9 day outing would be too long for me this year since my calendar is getting pretty full. Is there a way to enjoy a piece of it over a 4-day (fri-mon) stint? If so I'd be up for that around the end of August.

I hope this turns into a trip. It looks like an excellent loop and the kind of experience I really like.

A 9 day outing would be too long for me this year since my calendar is getting pretty full. Is there a way to enjoy a piece of it over a 4-day (fri-mon) stint? If so I'd be up for that around the end of August.

I think that could be said of every Forest Service Road and most 4x4 trails. The trouble comes when you break down and nobody else is travelling the road. It all depends on how remote it is.

If you get a SPOT or a satellite phone I'm sure you'd be fine. Your SPOT contact could call the closest tow truck for you if you broke down. The bill might be big, but you'd be safe since I'm sure a tow truck could get up there.

Craig