Milwaukee Road - St Maries to Calder, ID

I road another portion of the Milwaukee Road, this time from St Maries to Calder, ID.  It's a beautiful stretch of the route, following along the St Joe River, which feeds into the south end of Lake Coeur d'Alene.  The only down side here is that it is also a trafficked road for local residents and campers; so an occasional vehicle will go by and stir up the dust.

This section is not currently listed on the Rails to Trails TrailLink website (although it has now been submitted). Heading east, you would continue on the Milwaukee Road (Pearson to Calder) trail, then the Route of the Hiawatha, which continues from Pearson to the trailhead near Taft, MT, and finally the Route of the Olympian, which continues to St Regis, MT.

The trail does not continue to the west, however, since the next section, from St Maries to Plummer, ID, is still an active route, now operated by the St Maries River Railroad, primarily for lumber transport.

Approaching Calder, you can't get through without lifting your bike over some barriers which block a couple trestles, one of which is a double line trestle that has been partially damaged by fire. It's still viable - I walked across it to get some pictures.  But, being within a mile of Calder, I called it good, and turned around to head back.

Here is a GPS of the roughly 42 mile round trip.

Photos

Leaving St Maries, the road parallels the original route for about a mile. This trestle is part of the original route.

One of four trestles spanning creeks that feed into the St Joe River. 

The flood plain along the river, with an old barn in the distance.

...

Approaching the only steel trestle on the route, crossing the river itself.

The second wooden trestle.

Just a beautiful area...

Looking over the barrier of the first blocked trestle. This one was relatively easy to access.

Looking back...

Arriving at the double-line trestle near Calder, ID.

I chose not to ride across this one.

From the highway west of St Maries, you can catch a glimpse of a spectacular bridge spanning Benewah Lake, still in use by the St Maries River Railroad.