As a visitor, Jarbidge appears to be an automobile town. There is no airport and the river is not navigable; the only way in is in an automobile. The mountains in the national forest are criss crossed by dirt roads that are popular OHV destinations. The antique automobile club was in town for a visit and it was interesting to see their seemingly fragile vehicles scale the dirt mountain roads without much problem. Then I realised that at the time these were built there were very few paved roads in the world. They were made for this.
The Old Jarbids
There 3 ways (that I know) to drive to Jarbidge. The low way from Rogerson Idaho is paved but for the last 17 miles and has only one steep section.
The Easy Road to Jarbidge
The short way from Elko is also the high way (as in elevation) and is not paved for a long way. It is also steep and was still blocked by snow at the end of June.
The High but Short Road to Jarbidge
The High but Short Road to Jarbidge
The High but Short Road to Jarbidge
And the long way which is also mostly dirt via Buck Creek. This may be shorter for some folks coming from Idaho, but it is not in good shape for a long way.
The Long Way to Jarbidge, Buck Creek
The Long Way to Jarbidge, Buck Creek
And some pictures from the Deer Creek Summit that I thought are interesting.
OHV Road in Jarbidge
Deer Creek
Looks like you are on your way to Salt lake city. By following you I am learning US geography. Never heard about Jarbidge wilderness before. Even Google spellchecker didn’t recognize this name
Did you climb up Mary’s River to sign its register?
Actually, I am on the way to Yellowstone. Salt Lake is just a big city… not interesting…
This is a recurring revelation to me. There are so many places I never heard about that worth visiting.
On my hike, I tried to make it to the pass at the top of the Jarbidge River trail, but there was too much snow. I assume climbing any of the mountains in the area would require snow travel which I was not equipped for. The Jarbidge wilderness seems to be very lightly traveled. The trails are far apart, so any serious visit would require multi day backpacking rather than a dayhike.