GETAWAYS: Hobo Cedar Grove truly is a very special botanical area
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IF YOU GO...
n WHAT: Hobo Cedar Grove Special Botanical Area
n WHERE: about 63 miles from Moscow, near Clarkia, Idaho
n COST: free
n FAMILY: yes, a beautiful destination, a great family hike
n CONTACT: U.S. Forest Service, St. Joe Ranger District, 222 South 7th, Suite 1, St. Maries, ID 83861, 208-245-2531
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Hobo Cedar Grove is our local Special Botanical Area.
The U.S. Forest Service has established seven Special Botanical Areas in northern Idaho. These small preserves were created to protect rare habitats or high-quality undisturbed examples of important plant communities.
Six of the seven Special Botanical Areas in northern Idaho are groves of Western red cedar. (The seventh, Walde Mountain in the Pierce Ranger District, protects a rare plant population.) The six are scattered around the region: Hanna Flats and the Roosevelt Grove at Priest Lake, the DeVoto Grove along the Lochsa River, Settler's Grove near Wallace, Sandhouse Cedar Grove near Avery and the Hobo Cedar Grove near Clarkia.
For Palouse residents, Hobo is clearly the closest of those specially-protected cedar groves. The grove is about 13 miles from the tiny town of Clarkia, which is 50 highway miles from Moscow. This provides the opportunity to visit a certified world-class cedar forest less than two hours from the Moscow-Pullman area.
Hobo is a 240-acre preserve filled with 500-year-old cedars. Even during the hottest summer days, the grove is a dark, cool, serene and quiet cathedral. The huge trees have interlocking canopies that filter out most sunlight, transforming the forest into what seems an ideal habitat for wood elves.
In 1969, Hobo Cedar Grove was classified as a Special Botanical Area, and then in 1980 the grove was designated as a National Natural Landmark.
A half-mile nature trail winds through part of the grove. A well-written interpretive booklet that explains the 17 nature trail stations along the route is available from the kiosk at the trailhead. An additional mile-long loop trail cruises through the bulk of the preserve.
At the large parking area at the entrance to the grove, the Forest Service has provided one privy, and nestled in a separate clearing, a day-use area with picnic table. None of the parking lot, trails or picnic areas are paved, and the facilities are not fully wheelchair accessible.
Driving to Hobo Cedar Grove is not difficult, and the typical sedan should have no problem negotiating the roads. However, it is very important to remember that first, you are on your own since there are no services available in that area, and second, that the roads after Clarkia are gravel, dirt, or dust depending on their use and weather conditions, and third, that you will be driving through industrial timberland.
After leaving Clarkia, the road climbs through forestland that is regularly logged. You can expect to meet loaded logging trucks on the narrow roads. You may even find newly-cut logs stacked along the roadside and logging equipment moving trees adjacent to your route.
In addition (and this warning is specifically requested by my ace photographer, Gina Gormley, who requires that I drive at a snail's pace on these narrow winding mountain roads), there are no guardrails along any of those roads despite the very steep drop-offs common to the area.
To get to Hobo Cedar Grove, take Idaho Highway 8 east from Moscow, through Troy and Deary to Bovill. At Bovill, head northwest on Idaho Highway 3 to Clarkia. At highway milepost 54, turn right on Poplar Street to the tiny village of Clarkia. Continue through Clarkia, for one-quarter mile, then follow the road to the right. After another one-quarter mile, follow the main road to the left. Note the sign - you are now on Forest Road 301, and Hobo Cedar Grove is 13 miles ahead.
At 4 miles, follow the well-signed fork to the right onto Forest Road 321.
At 10 1/2 miles, follow another well-signed fork, turning right onto Forest Road 3357. Hobo Cedar Grove is 2 miles ahead.
To return to the Palouse, you have thre options. The most adventurous is to leave the parking lot at Hobo Cedar Grove and return the 2 miles to Forest Road 321, then take a right there and follow the road through the Marble Creek drainage to the St. Joe River Road near Calder, then go to St. Maries, Plummer and back to the Palouse.
Another return option is to leave the Hobo Cedar Grove and return to Clarkia, and then turn right onto Idaho Highway 3 to Fernwood, Santa, Emida, and Potlatch. The third option, and the most direct, is to return on Idaho Highway 8 through Bovill and Troy.
Bill London is a travel writer who lives in Moscow.
