If you say you will stop after the next corner here on Idaho’ s SR-14, you may be going for quite a while. Elk City’ s 50-milelong driveway.
Bird before doubling back on the old grade. Alas, but also fortunately, I met a road construction flagger only a mile out of town. The very pleasant lady said there was a one-hour wait, and it would only take me to 10 miles of freshly laid chip seal. Thanking her for this bit of data, I headed back for the even more spirited jog up the new grade and a return to Grangeville.
Back where I entered town was a small sign for Mt. Idaho, another grade but definitely not an‘ A’. Oh, it has very nicely radiused corners and some scintillating scenery even in the haze, but the steep downhill road surface suffers from neglect, so one’ s line, plus pace selection, is critical to avoid the suspension-unsettling patches and a couple of swales and heaves that will get you airborne if not careful – or if so inclined. The reward at the bottom is to meet up with SR-14, the road to and from Elk City.
For 50 miles I enjoyed an almost endless series of corners, one after the other thrown at me with a steady variation of suggested speeds and changing pavement conditions from sublime to‘ oh shit!” The river was my constant companion, along with plenty of eagles and ravens. There is gas and food in the little city, and in the right season their Huckleberry treats are not to be beaten – just eaten.
The bliss of the return route was not lessened as I rode on entirely different pavement with a new view of the Clearwater River now on my port side. Along the rocky hill-side lane, the pavement takes on a more scarred condition and can be strewn with detritus. One can ride nonstop on this roller-coaster romp for 60 miles before it finally straightens out a bit in Stites, leaving me panting in my helmet by the time I was finished. Still, not a single elk was seen.
With so much named after them in this area, these second largest of North America land mammals must have once numbered in the thousands. They are also known in the Shawnee tongue as wapiti, meaning“ white rump,” so we have that nickname in common!( Another story best left unwritten.) As it was early elk hunting season, they were wisely playing hide-and-seek from the hundreds of camouflaged visitors that swell both Elk City’ s and Elk River’ s populations by at least double.
Yet many of the elk’ s smaller cousins are meeting their demise in a losing battle of bone, antler, and hide versus
Top: I love old bridges like this one just west of Elk City off of SR-14. Bottom: One of the most photographed spots along SR-14.
RIDERMAGAZINE. COM / NOVEMBER 2026 / 25