...offroad use (truck, atv, motorcycle), camping, shooting, horseback, snow mobile/bike, etc.

I have some follow up questions if I get responses.

Thanks everyone for your time.

Mike

Might start by looking here,    http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/thepeoplesland/links.cfm

A lot depends on where in Idaho you want to play.

Thanks for the link.

Middle and Northern parts of your State, in general are you able to do the things I listed above.

On our public lands in NC all you can do is hike, worthless for what I want to do.

The biggest complaint I hear from Idaho family members was access to public land.  In some parts of that state there is plenty of good public lands...  but the gate and road across the private ranch lands to get there is locked and posted.

Interesting, lends to what I'm hearing about the desirability of property boarding public land.

Most of the public land in Idaho is open to what you listed, there are some restrictions though.  The main one being the off-road driving/atv use.  Especially in the northern half of the state a lot of roads and atv trails get gated off in the fall and then opened up again in the spring.  Couple reasons why; wildlife management/protection and erosion control.  Once the snows hit though it's pretty much all open for snowmobiles.

From driving around on day trips around Boise, the only stuff that seemed to be "closed" to vehicle traffic (other then the obvious) was stuff deep in the Owyhee mountains, which is in the SW corner.

Also, you can check here
https://idaho.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2252207eb95b49f99b2c05228831dfbb

There is tons of public lands all open to everything you want to do here.

Thanks for all replies.

I'm starting the initial stages of seeing if there's a possibility of moving to central/north idaho or Western Montana.

Some background on me. I'm a Southern Appalachian boy, from an old Appalachian pioneering family. Our family has been in the Southern Appalachians since the late 1600's. The Southern Appalachians was a paradise, about 20 years ago we started getting invaded by northern leftist transplants. It seems it's exponentially increased ever since to the point the southern Appalachians are not the mountains of my boyhood. I fully expect within the next 10 years it will be completely ruined (it really already is people just don't realize it yet). The northern leftist transplants are everywhere and moving here by the tens of thousands yearly. I'm at a crossroads in my life (42 years old) were I can hunker down and deal with what's coming or I can leave. I only want to leave if I can find somewhere to go that has mountains, forests, good water, good land, low population density, and the leftists aren't moving there in droves. I'm a degreed mechanical engineer and my wife is an orthopedic PA, we have no kids.

My only real concern is the winter. Please don't laugh at my experiences with cold weather and snow but I have had some exposure. As a boy, teenager, and young adult we use to have pretty good winters low's in the single digits, multiple 12"+ snows per season, with snow on the ground all of Jan and Feb. In 1996 that all changed, our temperature doesn't stay low consistently like it use too so the snows were effected. We got 19" of snow last year in one night and it was gone in 2 days. Anyway I've had a tiny bit of exposure to medium winters as we are not in the deep south.

I believe we can adapt to the extended low temperatures and snow amounts, if it's possible to get around safely with 4X4 vehicles. In example, can a Tacoma and 4runner with dedicated snow tires get you were ever you need to go with the amount of snow you all get?

I would need to find an area where the wife and I can work and commute from the house/property. Is commuting 30miles one way possible with the winters you all get?

I would want acreage (terrain, forested, good water) that borders public land (if that public land is open to vehicles, atv's, shooting, etc.).

I would want to make sure the area has low population growth for the foreseeable future.

I need to figure out if what I'm looking for in Idaho/Montana even exists.

I have this idea of my wife and I taking jobs somewhere central to those areas i mentioned for 2 years while we scope out the areas for a permanent place to settle.

Is there any advice one can give me, does what I propose even sound realistic or even exist in Idaho/Montana?

I enjoy skiing and I know I'll love snowmobile/snowbiking. I'm an outdoors person, spending many years on the families farm, with livestock, growing tobacco, corn, and sugarcane.

Thanks for your time.

Any additional information would be much appreciated.

Do you want to move to a city that has low population growth? or move to an area 30 miles outside a city that has low population growth?  To find a good jobs for you and your wife, your going to need to live somewhat close to a city of decent size.  Boise is probably your best bet finding an engineering job for yourself.  You could probably find some timber acreage outside of town as you head north towards Idaho City. That entire area is surrounded by public land.  Idaho city itself is a small town that is not growing and land all around it would fit what you want. Its 46miles from Idaho City to Boise, you could potentially find some property that is a few miles closer.   In North Idaho you could look for something that is within commuting distance of Spokane Washington, but to be out on the border of public land its probably going to be a 40-50 mile commute one way.  Maybe you could get really lucky and find work for both you and your wife in one of Idaho's smaller towns, that would check all your "wants" boxes, but small towns are not going to have much in the way of work for an engineer.

Winter driving can be a little rough at times, especially if you are commuting 30+ miles one way, but with good tires and 4x4 you should be fine(Your commute time may be quite long after a heavy snow though).  

In all reality to get what you want in this state you need to either find work in a small northern or central Idaho town(Hard to do unless your lucky) or wait until you retire to move out here.  If you are retired and dont have to worry about the commute there are tons of places that would fit what you want.

Thank you, great info.

Would it possible to commute from Eastern Idaho into one of the Western Montana Cities?

I'm in my early 40's, really no plan to retire will work in some form til I drop.

I don't want to live in a city or town, rural with little to no growth preferred.

No not really, use google maps and look at the distances between the larger cities and the few small towns somewhat close to the Idaho/Montana border.  Just curious have you ever been out west to Idaho, Montana or Wyoming?  It's a lot different than back east.  There are way fewer bigger city/towns, and distances between them are quite long.  There is plenty of rural areas 30-40 miles outside most larger towns or cities in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, but to find that rural land with timber, and water on it will be a little tougher, but not impossible by any means.  Really it would depend on where you could find work, maybe research some companies out here that hire engineers such as yourself, see which city they are located in and then start looking at what rural land outside of that city looks like

I know a few people who used to commute from St. Anthony and Island Park to Idaho Falls for years, so anything is doable depending on how determined you are heh. Lots of engineering jobs in IF due to lab presence (even if you don't work directly for the lab you have companies like Curtis Wright and a few smaller ones whose names I can't think of). The area between Thornton and Rexburg counts as HUBZone so that makes you a lot more desirable if you work for a company that subcontracts to the lab, and there is enough rural area out there to fit what you're looking for, while still being close enough to IF where the commute time is the same as if you lived on the east side of IF.

Lots of options, but you need to figure out which side of the state you want to be on first.

Lots of great information guys I really appreciate it.

From my studies of satellite and terrain views (and even Google Maps street view), the southern part of Idaho is going to be too high desert for my liking.

I've spent my life in the shelter of the forested mountains so I'll need to find something somewhat comparable to make this work.

I realize the sheer amount of forestation out here in the east is extreme compared to what it's like in Idaho/Montana.

I'll have to be able to live and work(willing to make a long commute) in the more forested mountainous parts of the state.

I'll be spending 6 days in July riding my motorcycle through western Montana and northern/central Idaho to see the area first hand.

If I like what I see I'll be planning a winter trip to do some snowmobiling and skiing to see the area in the winter.

By next summer, if all goes well, I'll be putting out job applications.

What I need to figure out to help me save time is what part of the state to concentrate on, l already know south idaho is off the table.

That sounds like a good plan.  If you are riding through Missoula into Idaho, I recommend grangeville as the farthest south to drive and to the north, really all the way to the Canadian border, it's all cool country. I recommend checking out St. Marie's, and bonners ferry.  Both are located in very beautiful areas.

This is my tentative route it's going to be 7 days instead of 6. If anyone sees any anything hairy about this route please do let me know. I was interested in possibly driving past craters of the moon just to get a glimpse of it, but if that flyby doesn't seem worth it please speak up. Thanks everyone.

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If I was to take your advice and go no farther South than Grangeville, I need to get back over to Montana from there.

Has anyone ever used this national forest dirt road?  Is it possible for an adventure bike to make it? 8 hours to cross would be a damn adventure for sure.

Attached File

If you are going to head to Missoula from grangeville you should take highway 12 up through Lolo pass.  That road heading east past red river is not a good road, may not even be open depending on time of year.  Your original route that takes you as far south as Boise is not a bad route, McCall and cascade is a cool area,but McCall is probably more touristy than what you are looking for as a place to move to.  Overall that original route you have should be fun. And IMO craters of the moon is god aweful ugly.  Think rocky terrain as far as you can see, hardly any vegetation.

If you do go through Craters of the Moon though I would alter your route so you take Highway 20 East all the way to West Yellowstone, and cut north into Montana from there. If you're still considering the eastern part of the state that is.

Thanks for the advice. My truck is going to be in long term parking at the airport in Bozeman. When I'm heading home I planned on driving through West Yellowstone.

Thanks for the heads up on that national forest road.

23 days and counting

Location each evening:
6/30 Bozeman, MT (late 10pm or after) 
7/1 Helena, MT
7/2 Kalispell, MT
7/3 Hayden, ID
7/4 Missoula, MT
7/5 Boise, ID 
7/6 Hamilton, MT
7/7 Bozeman, MT

That dirt road is known as the Magruder Corridor.  Might wanna look that up.  Don't know if it is passable yet.  Later in the summer it is.  Most take a couple of days to do it.

Yes thanks, been reading about it for the last month or so.

Saving that for next trip with the 4X4 tacoma and roof top tent. My kind of camping ;)

If you are going to explore Idaho there are a few things you need to know. Always and I mean always have a coat in your car even in the middle of summer. Next is water lots of water. A gun with ammo and last a satellite phone. If you have problems with Mormons or people from California don't come to Idaho.

GA?

So what you're saying is a state with a population of 1.7M is made up of mostly Mormons and Californians?

I used to be a Mormon so that's covered.

Guys, did I make a mistake picking 6/30 - 7/7 to come ride around ID/MT?

I need to make good time each day on the route I posted above.

I absolutely have no issues with passing to keep a pace.

Should I be ok keeping a good pace?

What do you want to know about GA?

I'm a born and bred Southerner, what would you like me to tell you about GA?

From your post above I assumed you knew about ID because you were born and raised there.

No I have live in Ga for61 years. Just got a Ranch out here in Idaho. I haul ASS back to GOOD OLD DIXIE in the winter. Can you still say Dixie? or is THAT FORBIDDEN?

1 day

With the exception of I-15 to Dillon, you aren't going to commute from eastern Idaho into any Montana 'cities'. The only other road north into MT is Hwy 95 over Lost Trail Pass and it can be a bitch in the winter.

The Forest Service and BLM lands in ID (likely in most of the west these days) vary by season and what type of activities are allowed at any given time. Gates get locked for a number of reasons these days, a lot of them bogus. Wildlife management and stream protection seem to be the most prevalent. Add to that the increasing number of liberal college graduates who wind up working for the FS/BLM and they believe, even though they never laid eyes on the land before, they know better than the natives who were raised in that country.

Then you have the assholes like Carol King who put gates up where Forest Service access roads cross their property, ignoring the fact that the land had an existing Right-of-Way when they bought it. Seems to be more of that shit these days with the Kommiefornian invasion. 

There's plenty of land to do whatever you want said you want to do...probably just not all at the same time. Incidentally, I-15 is known as 'the Mormon Corridor' in eastern ID. Eastern ID is rife with Mormons. I don't have issues with them, but they can make it hard to buy alcohol and stuff. 

You ain't making that loop in 7 days...unless you'll be riding 24/7...and then only with a strong tailwind and not stopping to see the sights. 

That segment from Anaconda to Hamilton is a one lane mountain road.I think it took me about 7 hours last time I did it. 

If they ironed out all the wrinkles in Idaho...it'd be bigger than Texas. 

That road is called the Nez Perce trail. I've lived in Elk City, ID and Conner, MT and guided hunts in much of the area in between. Magruder is south of the Salmon River. 

That road is a one lane gravel road with hairpin turns and even crosses one drainage where the road is built on log bundles. It's seriously the most remote road in the lower 48 states. 

It takes about 10 hours in a pick-up...and that's if you don't have to stop and cut a fallen tree from blocking the road. It snows shut November to May. 

Where's Waldo?

Waldo get lost? 

Notice how flatlanders never bother to check in when they hit civilization? Does a guy send out search parties or just figger they don't know any better and that they're kegged up at the cathouse in Wallace? 

flatlander i think not

my family has been in the southern Appalachians for 200+ years

whirlwind 7 days 2200 miles wide the fuck open

anyone recognize this spot
Attached File


didn't see any other knee daggers the whole time, just adventure tourers

going to be completely honest the roads and twisties in our mountains are way better, but it's oranges and apples not really comparable for many reasons

but for open road with endless massive sweepers you got us beat

overall I was awestruck by the vast openness and long range views, not what I'm use too in our mountains, but I couldn't get enough

i liked what I saw I'm already planning my next 2 trips out, in July again with the wife this time in the STI, then 600 miles (5 days) of offroading in late August in the Tacoma

if the wife likes what she sees next summer we'll plan a winter trip

Completed route in 7 days as planned.

We were hauling ass, it was glorious.

Some Oregon adventure bikers tried to keep up with us at some point, they couldn't.

We didn't see anyone else in full leathers the entire trip, interesting.

Absolutely fucking amazing place. I live in the most beautiful place in the east, it does not compare to what you have.

I'll be back, it's in the works as we speak.

So you still don't know what you don't know, eh? 

One could fly plumb around the world in 24 hours...but you'd miss the granularity of the sights and experiences. 

my first time there

had 7 days

wanted to lay eyes on as much as possible in the 7 days

i now have some perspective on the place for the next trip

mission accomplished