Idaho Heartland - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 271

The sparkling rivers, deep canyons, and rugged mountains along the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway remain relatively
unchanged since Lewis and Clark's expedition through the region 200 years ago.
12. Northwest Passage Highway
Just east of Lowell, a sign warns travelers that there are no service stations for the next
84 miles. Here begins one of Idaho's emptiest stretches of highway—empty, that is, of all
but the most dramatic and unspoiled scenery. To the southeast lie the Lochsa River and the
Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; to the north, a woodland of Douglas firs and western red
cedars covers a precipitous 6,000-foot ridge. Years ago, the only way through these moun-
tains—as Lewis and Clark found out—was a tortuous Indian path called the Lolo Trail.
13. Lochsa Historical Ranger Station
Builtinthe1920s,thisstationcouldnotbereachedbyroaduntil1952,andallthebuildings
and furnishings on display were either made from local timber or were packed in. (One
piece, a good-sized desk, is said to have been slung to the side of a mule with a large ham
and two bales of hay hung on the other side as counterbalances.) When forest fires raged
through this area in 1934, residents of the ranger station jumped into the Lochsa River to
escape the flames; miraculously, the ranger station itself survived. A walking tour through