Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Idaho / Hells Canyon

Snake River Trail to Kirkwood Ranch

Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Idaho side of the Snake River (Pittsburg Landing, west of White Bird)

The Snake River Trail follows the Idaho bank of the Snake River through the bottom of Hells Canyon, past old ranches, rocky bluffs, and grassy bars. The five-mile walk to Kirkwood Historic Ranch makes an easy overnight with a museum, campsites, and flush toilets at the end.

It’s also one of the few backpacking trips in Idaho that’s best in early spring, before the heat and the rattlesnakes arrive.

The hike

The trail starts at the Upper Pittsburg Landing trailhead, also called the Snake River Trailhead. One 2021 trip report notes that the actual trailhead is at the end of the road, with a smaller parking lot than the main Upper Pittsburg Landing lot. The same writer says the road over the pass is plowed in winter and steep in places, but manageable in a basic passenger car. Idaho Press columnist Pete Zimowsky says the turnoff from U.S. 95 is about 27 miles north of Riggins, via Deer Creek Road over Pittsburg Saddle.

Zimowsky says the trail is accessible as early as late February or early March. He describes it winding around granite outcroppings and past steep drop-offs toward the river. Oregon Hikers notes the trail isn’t inside the Hells Canyon Wilderness, whose boundary on the Idaho side stays a couple hundred feet above the trail. Zimowsky gives the canyon’s scale: the west rim in Oregon rises 5,632 feet above the river and the Idaho side reaches 8,043 feet.

The trail isn’t flat. One trip report describes lots of ups and downs and a big climb before Kirkwood, rewarded with stellar views from Suicide Point. Another notes mileage markers along the way that seemed accurate. Jet boats run up and down the river, and you may see small planes heading to the canyon’s airstrips.

Kirkwood Historic Ranch sits about five miles in; Oregon Hikers gives 9.8 miles round trip and Zimowsky about six miles one way. Oregon Hikers says the Nez Perce camped, hunted, and fished here before settlers arrived, and that Kirkwood sits on a high bar left by the Missoula Floods at the end of the last Ice Age. Dr. Jay Kirkwood arrived around 1880, and a series of owners followed. The ranch buildings include the Sterling Cabin and Jordan House, and one of them serves as a museum of settler history.

Beyond Kirkwood, the trail continues upriver for many more miles. One 2021 report describes a steep climb out of Kirkwood, then David Kirk’s grave, Sheep Creek Ranch, and McGaffee Cabin at Bernard Creek, ending at Granite Creek around mile 28. The same report says the trail beyond Granite Creek has probably been abandoned for decades and the Granite Creek bridge has been washed out for years. Another party took a jet boat to Granite Creek and hiked the whole way back to Pittsburg Landing over three days.

The farther upriver, the rougher it gets. The 2021 report describes grass swallowing the trail, rattlesnakes, sock-snagging cactus, and poison ivy thick enough to leave one hiker oozing for days.

For the high country above this canyon, see the Seven Devils Loop.

Tips

Camping

Kirkwood Ranch has a campground for hikers and river users. Zimowsky describes restrooms, tent spots, picnic tables, fire rings, and a water supply, and trip reports mention flush toilets. Confirm with the Forest Service whether water is currently on. Beyond Kirkwood, camping is dispersed on the bars along the river. One trip report camped at Sheep Creek on a large grassy area with a side stream for water, but noted the cabin there appears to be rented out, so camp farther away in busy season. One trip report mentions camping and picnic tables at Pittsburg Landing.

Inside Intel: Kirkwood is the easy choice, with many established campsites just above the river and flush toilets. It’s also where one party saw the only other backpackers on their trip. If you want more room, the same report describes a quieter camp at Sheep Creek farther upriver, with fresh water from the side stream.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Ticks, snakes, and a zipped-up door:

Canyon camping means ticks and rattlesnakes nearby, so a tent that closes up tight is worth it. See which tents held up for testers.

See the picks →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.