A great bike adventure awaits anyone heading through Idaho. 

Our base was the Wallace Inn in the funky little town of Wallace Idaho. This is an old mining town and a modern mining town all rolled into one as there is still a large working silver mine in the area.  Lots of people with crazy ideas seemed to be turned loose to make the town interesting.  With no constipated city bylaws to restrict creativity it seemed to work.

The Red Lantern restaurant in an old gas station with loads of crazy decorations.

One of the more bizarre shops, unless of course you were just looking for a set of antlers or a mounted head to put in your living room.

From Wallace it was a 20 mile drive to the head of the bike trail. This trail uses the ‘Rails to Trails’ system of turning abandoned railways, with their lovely low slope grades, into bicycle paths.  The very first challenge (after paying your $10 entry fee) is to travel through a completely black, 1.66 mile long tunnel.  You really do need a light to attempt this as there is running water on each side of the tunnel with the occasional pot hole. For those who have visited us in Saskatoon you will realize we are experts in avoiding pot holes. 

Trail head with registration point, parking lot and information panels.

Entering the 1.66 mile tunnel.

After the long tunnel your eyes are treated to vistas of tree clad mountains, gorge defying trestles, a few more shorter tunnels and the occasional mammal.

At the end of the ride you have a choice to ride back up on the same trail in reverse or take an old school bus outfitted to take you and your bike back on dusty, narrow mountain roads. This was another adventure so we wimped out and rode the bus. 

I put a video of the bus ride as it enters a tunnel and meets some bike riders in the middle.

Click HERE if you want to see the bus video.

Anyone with basic cycling skills and a good head lamp would be able to do this ride.

The website for The Hiawatha Trail gives most of the information you need. Click HERE for a look.