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!

Title: Trail Spotlight: Rapid River- Frank Church, Trail 4007

Recommended by: Clay Jacobson, Idaho Centennial Trail Coordinator

Duration: Day Hike/Multi Day

Area: Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Salmon Challis National Forest

Difficulty Rating: 2 out of 5

Road Considerations: Good road to Seafoam Guard Station, from there to the Rapid River trailhead is a narrow, 1 lane road. Do not try driving up the Seafoam Lake Road. Road to Josephus Lake is open.

Total hiking miles: 13 miles to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River

The Hike: This remote hike in the Frank Church is just outside of Stanley, ID. From the Lola Creek Road, you take Beaver Creek up and over Vanity Summit to Seafoam Guard Station. From there, the single lane road takes you down to the trailhead on the Rapid River, a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Salmon. The trail follows an old road for the first 3.5 miles to a small camp at Bruin Creek. From there the single track meanders along the sidehill above the river, winding through dramatic rock formations.

An ITA crew worked this trail in July, clearing the first 5 miles of trail. Beyond that, there are some slides around Sheep Creek that are easy enough to get through on foot. The Rapid River trail makes its way 13 miles to the Middle Fork of the Salmon, a few miles upriver from Pistol Creek. For the full send folks, you could ford the river and get on the Middle Fork trail to Marsh Creek and loop back to the Lola Creek Trailhead for a 45 mile foray into the Frank!

Things to consider: There used to be a pack bridge over the Middle Fork of the Salmon at the mouth of Rapid River. Now it is a ford so make sure you check the water levels if your plan is to cross the river.

Fun places to visit on your way in or out: Enjoy the tourist offerings in Stanley, or drop by and visit Kevin at the Lowman Inn for a post-hike pizza and beer.