Idaho ATV Trail Guide
Idaho ATV Trails
The Best Idaho ATV Trails
When it comes to Idaho ATV trails and Idaho UTV trails, outdoorsmen and women will find a wealth of wonderful options. Idaho’s natural beauty and diverse terrain make the state a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, with an abundance of hundreds of miles of opportunities to ride, and to explore. Lakes, canyons, mountain ranges, forests, desert wilderness—it’s all here. So, if you’re looking for the best Idaho off-road trails, or if you’re searching for the most popular ATV trails near me when you’re in Idaho, the experts at Treadworld are here to help with a list of a few of the most popular places to go ATV and UTV trail riding in Idaho, with location information and websites where available.
Sawtooth National Forest/Baumgartner Trail/South Hills
Location: near Featherville, ID
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/sawtooth/recreation/ohv/?recid=5768&actid=93
The mountains in this 420,720-acre national forest offer some epic 4-wheeler trails as well as jaw-dropping views of the Idaho wilderness, that includes over 680 miles of streams and more than 20 high mountain lakes. You’ll find 440 miles of inventoried trails in the district, many of which top out in mountain lakes or bowl-shaped basins.
The Baumgartner area, situated alongside the South Fork Boise River, offers hundreds of miles of trails for motorcycles and ATV and UTV riding, so you can explore for miles without ever retracing the same ground. (UTVs are permitted in some areas, but many of the tracks have a 48″ wide limit or less.) Iron Mountain Lookout offers a steep ascent that can prove challenging for even the most experienced riders.
The South Hills area (officially the Cassia Division) is known to local ATV riders to offer more than 50 miles of trails on both sides of Rock Creek Road, in the shadow of Pike Mountain. Trails consist of hardpack, sand and rocks, along with some mud bogs and a few water crossings. Recreation areas here where you’ll find great riding include Diamondfield Jack Campground, Magic Mountain Ski Resort and Porcupine Springs Campground.
Caribou Loop Trail
Location: Crossing the southeastern Idaho border into western Wyoming
Website: https://cariboulooptrail.com/
This ATV riding trail provides 4-wheeler riders with challenging fun on more than 200 miles of dirt roads and trails that pass through a wide variety of terrains, including farm and ranch land, desert, rolling hills and mountain forests. You’ll also find around 20 secondary roads and trail off-shoots so you can ride all day if you wish. The route weaves past rugged snowcapped mountains, green meadows, creeks, rivers, lakes and a spectacular mix of aspen and pine tree forest lands. The trail is mostly hard pack and gravel, along with some steep hills, a few water crossings and some rocky trail—and when the weather cooperates, you’ll find some mudding trails too.
Danskin Mountains OHV Area
Location: Southeast of Boise, off Black Creek Road, Ada County in southwestern central Idaho
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/boise/recarea/?recid=5103
Over 160 miles of ATV trails and UTV trails on 60,000 acres of mostly forest lands offer a spectacular variety of terrain, with breathtaking views. When you’re up for a challenge, you won’t want to miss the Danskin Mountain OHV Trail, a loop trail that covers more than 45 miles of narrow, rocky hardpack and sandy trails with switchbacks. Other area trails weave through desert scrub brush, with occasional trees, a few shallow water crossings, some large canyons, and some sand washes. Expect some small and large jumps, some steep hills and some berms along the way.
Fourth of July Pass ATV Trails
Location: Access from I-90 a few miles east of Coeur d’Alene, ID
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ipnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=6887&actid=93
Located in the Coeur d’Alene National Forest, this area offers 35 miles of trails through dense pine forests, featuring multiple loop options and a large gravel staging area to help you get started. The terrain is mostly hardpack, with gradual elevation changes, all the while providing outstanding scenic views of Copper Mountain, and the Marie Saddle and Curren Saddle Gaps. Marked trails are suitable for all levels of ATV trail riding experience.
Idaho Centennial Trail
Location: From the Idaho/Washington state line to Higgins Point, 6 miles east of Coeur d’Alene at the end of Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive.
Website: https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/activities/hiking/centennial-trail/
The granddaddy of Idaho OHV trails, the Idaho Centennial Trail offers over 1,300 miles of 4-wheeler riding through some of the most scenic portions of the state’s wild country, including desert canyonlands, wet mountain forests, mountains, streams and rivers. This trail was born in the minds of Roger Williams and Syd Tate in the early 1980s when the two decided the world would be a better place if there existed a trail connecting the northern and southern borders of Idaho. They completed a challenging three-month-long, thirteen-hundred mile journey over the entire length of the state and the official trail route came into being just in time to be designated as the official state trail during Idaho’s Centennial year in 1990. Those who cover the entire trail will pass through 11 national forests and will cross three historic trails including the Oregon, Lewis and Clark and Nez Perce Trails.
McCroskey State Park
Location: Farmington, ID
Website: https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/mccroskey/
Located just across the Washington state line in Idaho, this 4,400-acre state park was donated to the state by Virgil McCroskey in honor of his mother, a pioneer woman who came to Eastern Washington with her husband and children to establish a homestead. The park is dedicated to the hardship faced by all pioneer women. The area is home to Skyline Drive an 18-mile-long, unpaved road that rises through dense cedar and Ponderosa pine forests, while providing access to 32 miles of multi-purpose trails, all of which offer spectacular wilderness viewing.
Rabbit Creek OHV
Location: South of Boise, ID
Website: https://www.blm.gov/visit/rabbit-creek-ohv-trail
Alone, this trail offers a 54-mile jaunt through Idaho wilderness scrub area with plenty of built-in smaller loops to keep it interesting. It’s also part of a trail system that includes the Owyhee Front, Hemingway Butte and Fossil Creek OHV trailheads that provide access to hundreds of miles of ATV and UTV riding trails with moderate to difficult ratings, with tight switchbacks, sand washes and steep, rocky terrain.
St. Anthony Sand Dunes
Location: 8 miles west of St. Anthony, ID
Website: https://www.blm.gov/visit/st-anthony-sand-dunes
When you want to tackle sand dunes up to 400 feet high, this 10,600-acre area is where you should go. The large dunes on the west side include more technical steep ATV riding trails, including Choke Cherry, Devil’s Dunes, and Dead Horse Bowl. The east side features some smaller dunes, and the Egin Lakes area is a good central location ideal for when you can’t decide because it provides easy access to both the smaller and larger dunes. To many, the white quartz sand appears to simulate a rolling sea of sand that is unique to the experience of many ATV riders and UTV riders, and therefore unforgettable.
