June 23-28, 2025
Idaho Hot Springs Gravel Ride
Explore Idaho’s Sawtooth range and champagne gravel, while immersing yourself in a wild landscape filled with hot springs, majestic rivers, and countless mountains.
About the Ride
Unplug and ride deep into the Idaho backcountry. visit natural hot springs, the Sawtooth Mountains, the Salmon River of No Return, and many other gems of the Gem State.
June 23-28, 2025
Missoula, MT/Idaho
Discover Idaho’s best gravel riding as you follow this route along remote backroads to off-the-beaten-path campgrounds. Experience the state’s hidden gems, from natural hot springs and majestic rivers to awe-inspiring mountains.
The 2025 event is now full.
Can’t make it this time?
Event Details
Positive Planet Impact
Full Event Story
Climate Ride Idaho Gravel offers riders a unique adventure through some of the state’s most remote and stunning areas. Idaho boasts mighty rivers, high alpine peaks, beautiful lakes, and thousands of miles of rarely traveled dirt roads. Our journey will skirt the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness, the largest federally designated wilderness area in the contiguous United States. Along the way, we’ll visit the charming destination towns of Stanley and McCall, where we’ll encounter some aspects of civilization.
Our ride starts and ends along the scenic Salmon River, which flows through the second-deepest canyon in the United States. This means we’ll face challenging climbs out of the canyon, but we’ll be rewarded with epic descents back down to the bottom. The route includes stops at alpine lakes, natural hot springs, and several beautiful streams and rivers, so be sure to bring a swimsuit.
Our camps are remote backcountry campgrounds, but the support van and our team will keep things comfortable at camp, and the guides will ensure riders are well-fed with delicious and hearty meals each day.
The route features a mix of quiet single-lane paved roads and smooth champagne gravel, where we will encounter very few cars or people. The ideal bike for this trip is a gravel bike with a wide range of gears, disc brakes, and tubeless tires at least 38 mm wide. (Road bikes and mountain bikes are not recommended, and due to the remoteness of our overnight camps, it won’t be possible to recharge E-bikes on this route.)
On the full route, daily mileage ranges from 40-75 miles. The terrain is mountainous, with some days including multiple mountain passes. However, our support vehicle will be available to shuttle riders to help them meet their daily riding goals.
The meeting location for this ride is Missoula, MT, from where we’ll take a short shuttle to the start of the ride. On the last day, we will shuttle riders back to Missoula, where we began our trip.
Photo Gallery
Itinerary Overview
Itinerary subject to change, your Ride Guide will include full details.
Each day’s route can be lengthened or shortened depending on your ride goals!
Day 1
Bike 54 miles, 3,300 feet of elevation gain
After meeting in Missoula, MT, we’ll grab a coffee and hop in a 2-hour shuttle to North Fork, Idaho where we’ll begin our ride. The first miles of this ride take us along the Main Salmon River where we pedal easy miles in one of the most spectacular canyons in the world. After a warm-up on pavement, we will turn onto dirt and start our slow climb out of the canyon. We’ll camp under the dark starry skies away from cell reception.
Day 2
Bike 60 Miles, 6,000 feet of elevation gain
After a hot breakfast in camp, we’ll climb past idyllic sheep farms and through endless fields of sagebrush before stopping for lunch near Challis, Idaho. After lunch, we’ll tackle our second climb of the day and begin riding the Challis Bonanza Toll Road, a route established for pack trains to haul supplies between mining claims and Challis in the late 1800s. We’ll enjoy a hearty dinner and and cool off in the creek that runs through our campsite.
Day 3
Bike 50 Miles, 3,000 Feet of Elevation Gain
Day 3 begins with a climb to our high point of the trip and nearly 9,000 feet. We’ll continue on the Challis-Bonanza Toll Road past ghost towns, mines, and historical points. After a picnic lunch, we’ll get our first glimpse of the Sawtooth Mountains and we’ll have a chance to soak in a natural hot springs near the town of Stanley, Idaho.
Day 4
Bike 42 miles with 3,000 feet of elevation gain
We’ll start the day with an obligitory stop at the famous Stanley Baking Company and continue climbing to the headwaters of the Salmon River. From Stanley, we’ll connect with the Idaho Hot Springs route developed by the Adventure Cycling Association. We’ll play games and swim in camp before another delicious dinner.
We’ll start the day with an obligitory stop at the famous Stanley Baking Company and continue climbing to the headwaters of the Salmon River. From Stanley, we’ll connect with the Idaho Hot Springs route developed by the Adventure Cycling Association. We’ll play games and swim in camp before another delicious dinner.
Day 5
Bike 65 or 75 Miles with up to 6,000 feet of elevation gain
The ride today has a little bit of everything, lakes, rivers, hot springs, and a big mountain pass with giant granite mountains in the distance. We’ll end the ride in McCall, Idaho on the shores of Payette Lake.
Day 6
Bike 45 Miles with 1,700 feet of elevation gain and 6,200 feet of descending!
Our final ride ends with a bang as we descend one of the longest gravel roads you’ve ever seen down into the Salmon River Canyon. Our ride finishes just 100 river miles downstream of where we started but you’ll defintely feel like we took the scenic route. We’ll enjoy a nice riverside picnic lunch and shuttle back to Missoula, MT to complete the loop.
Ready to get started?
FAQs and More Info
What is included?
Included:
- Expert guides, route support, and luggage transfer
- Shuttle to/from Missoula, MT
- Healthy meals and comfortable backcountry camping
- Camp games (if you know, you know!)
Not Included:
- Bicycle – gravel or cross-country bike required. (Road bikes and mountain bikes are not recommended, and due to the remoteness of our overnight camps, it won’t be possible to recharge E-bikes on this route.) Need to rent? We’ll have rental options for you in the Ride Guide.
- Camping equipment (we can provide rental information)
- Travel to/from the event & any pre- or post-ride accommodations
- Travel/supplemental medical insurance
- Alcoholic drinks
- Tips for guides (In your Ride Guide we will indicate recommended tips.)
What does my fundraising support, and why is it so important?
Cyclists can choose from the more than 100 incredible beneficiary organizations in our network! One of the things that make Climate Ride such an effective charitable event is that you can select the organization(s) you wish to fundraise for from our extensive list of beneficiary organizations. Our beneficiaries were selected for their work on the environment, conservation, sustainability, climate education, and active transportation advocacy. At the end of the year, Climate Ride grants the proceeds from our events to these hard-working organizations.
Travel Information
The Meeting Location for this trip is MIssoula, MT. We will meet early in the morning on June 23 for a quick shuttle to the ride start, and then we’ll return to Missoula the evening of June 28th. If you are driving to the start of the trip, we’ll offer a location to leave your vehicle for the week.
If you are flying to Missoula, MT for this event, we reccomend arriving the day before the trip starts and booking a flight after 8:00 PM on June 28th.
Can I rent a bike?
Gravel Bike rentals are available for this trip. After registering, contact your participant manager for more information.
Accommodations & Meals
Each evening, we’ll be staying in beautiful backcountry campgrounds. There are no nearby hotel options. If you wish to wash some of the dust off after each day’s ride, showers will need to be replaced with creek dips, hot spring soaks or a sponge bath. We’ll serve up some hot steamed towels!
All meals and snacks are included from Lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 6.
On Climate Ride Idaho Gravel camp becomes a traveling village and dynamic community. In the evenings after dinner, we’ll gather for games, stories, and evening talks.
Fundraising and Transfer Deadlines | Important Dates
Fundraising Deadlines:
| $500 to be raised by: | 3/31/2025 |
| $1,475 to be raised by: | 4/28/2025 |
| Transfer Deadline: | 4/28/2025 |
| $2,950 to be raise by | 5/26/2025 |
Note: If you’d like to register after or near a fundraising deadline, don’t worry, we’re here to help you get up to speed!
More Questions?
Be sure to review our general FAQ and policies or contact us!
