Our Trail Spotlight highlights day trips to multi-day hikes across Idaho. Trail conditions can change quickly- swollen rivers can become impassable, windstorms can knock trees down across trails, and snow can come earlier than expected. Please take these recommendations as a jumping off place and do additional research to understand current conditions and  keep yourself safe if you choose to hike this trail. Physical guidebooks and maps are always good to have or check out some online resources like Alltrails.com for updated trail reports. If your trip is as awesome as you hope it will be, please share photos and feedback!

Trail: Kelly Creek #567 and Hanson Ridge #428

Recommended by: Joelle Gallaugher, Great Burn Conservation Alliance

Duration: Day Hike or Overnight Trip

Area: Great Burn Recommended Wilderness, North Fork Ranger District, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest

Difficulty Rating: Kelly Creek #567, 1 or 2 out of 5. Hanson Ridge #428, 5 out of 5.

Road Considerations: The road to get to the Kelly Creek trailhead is long and gravel, however, passable by any vehicle. Throughout the year, the road conditions vary with potholes and washboarding, but is well traveled.

Total Hiking Miles: Kelly Creek #567 is a long trail with two trailheads – one at Schley Mountain and the other at the Kelly Creek Trailhead. It is best to access from the Kelly Creek Trailhead, with the Hanson Ridge #428 junction is 12 miles from the trailhead. #428 is 5.5 miles long, however the views of the ridge are about 2.5 miles up. It is recommended to turn around at that point.

The Hike: Kelly Creek #567 is a wonderful trail that follows creek-gradient for a majority of the trip. The trail offers many places to camp along the way. There is an outfitter camp eight miles from the Kelly Creek Trailhead at Bear Creek. The trail passes Hanson Meadows and Deer Creek Meadows along the way to Hanson Ridge #428 which offer good places to camp. #428 is quite steep with few water sources, so it is best to fill up at the spring near the junction at the bottom. This trail climbs about 2000ft in 2.5 miles, so expect to be sweating. Kelly Creek and Cayuse Creek are Blue-ribbon trout streams and it is highly recommended that you bring your fishing pole along for your trip. Remember, it’s catch-and-release only!

Places to Camp Along the Way: There is an area to camp at the Kelly Creek Trailhead which serves as a good option as the drive to get in is a long one. There are several dispersed sites along the Kelly Creek trail, with a couple top options being at the Cayuse Creek confluence or Hanson Meadows.

Things to Consider: Both trails don’t have a ton of tree cover, so expect to be warm on sunny days. Kelly Creek #567 sees a lot of stock use, so make sure you recreate responsibly and know what to do when encountering a pack string.

Fun Places to Visit on your Way in or out: The closest towns to the trailhead are either Superior, MT or Pierce, ID. Pierce is where Idaho first began and has some cool history throughout town. The Timber Inn is famous for their Timber Burgers and Taco Tuesdays!

More info about this hike: Check out the Forest’s Service’s website about Kelly Creek for more info.