Memorial Day weekend and the camping crowds that come with it were on the horizon, but we had a few days before the big weekend hit. So we picked a somewhat local location of the list of places to explore and hit the road north to Elk River. Once we crisscrossed the Elk River Backcountry Byway and found ourselves in the tiny town of Elk River we headed to the trailhead to Elk Creek Falls, just outside of town.
Video of the trip:
Elk Creek Falls
Elk Creek falls is actually a series of three different falls, with the ingenious names of Upper, Middle and Lower. It isn’t an exceptionally long trail at about 2.6 miles , but there is some fair topography to get your heart pumping. There are great views along the way of all three falls, and we happened to be there when the spring wildflowers were blooming as well.
Giant Western Red Cedar
While in the area we also headed a few miles north to the Giant Cedar Tree north of Elk River. At over 18 feet in diameter the Giant Cedar is the largest western red cedar east of the Cascade Crest and is estimated to be 3000 years old. If you have driven through the wasteland of smelly dairy farms and weeds that I-84 follows in southern Idaho you might not think there is much to Idaho. Well, I’m here to tell you there is an entirely different state up north full of forests and rivers and mountains… Well, never mind, don’t go there, it really isn’t that much different than southern Idaho.
McCroskey State Park
After the day exploring near Elk River we found a camp for the night and skipped over to our next destination, McCroskey State Park. McCroskey State Park was donated to the state by Virgil McCroskey who named the park after his mother, Mary Minerva McCroskey. It took Virgil several tries to convince the legislature to accept the donation of the park and he had to promise to maintain it for 15 years, which he did and then passed away just weeks after the 15 year maintenance commitment at age 93. Virgil had some foresight in developing the park, the legislature, not so much. They were more worried about the lost property tax revenue. It is Idaho’s second oldest state park.
The park is at the transition from the wet mixed conifer forests of the higher elevation panhandle forests, out to the dry pine forests and finally gives way to the rolling Palouse hills that flow into eastern Washington. Skyline drive follows the ridge for 17 miles in an east west direction. The flowers were in full bloom.
There are three semi developed campgrounds in the park as well as a few trails, which looked to be mainly for ATVs. There are a lot of grand vistas and it was a great place to camp for a night and watch the sun set from the ridgeline.
The next morning was Friday, the big three day weekend was here. We had already come across a lot of camps with trailers parked in them but with nobody around, people claiming their spot in the woods for the weekend early (likely dragging their trailers out the weekend before to stake their claim). The parade of vehicles continued up the road Friday morning, so we enjoyed our breakfast and knew it was time to head back home for the weekend. It was a quick escape, but a good one.
