Camas Meadow Camp and Battle Sites connect a specific event with lasting recognition: they were one of the locations during the Nez Perce flight in 1877 and were designated a National Historic Landmark on April 11, 1989. In Clark County, historic places sit alongside forest landscapes and routes that also tell a story.
The Camas Meadows Battle Sites are 32 miles east of Dubois, Idaho. The route includes seasonal roads; check road conditions before you drive.
Historic Places and Their Stories
Heritage Hall is a single-story Gothic Revival mission church, originally built as St. James Episcopal Church. The building was constructed in 1905 with funds raised through public donations and was the first church in what is now Clark County. The rest of Heritage Hall is now used as a museum and houses memorabilia from Clark County. The building’s construction history and its current use as a museum give it distinct historical layers.
Spencer Rock House can also be understood through its architecture: it is a two-story stone house with a side-gabled roof, classified as Craftsman architecture. Its historical significance is connected to the Wood Live Stock Company and the resulting establishment of sheep farming in northeastern Idaho. The story thus extends from an individual house to an industry that was important to the region.
Forest Landscapes and Trails
The Dubois Ranger District of Caribou-Targhee National Forest stretches from Aldous Lake in northeastern Clark County to North Birch Creek Valley. Sheridan Reservoir lies in the northeastern part of the county and within the national forest. These geographic reference points give the landscape a broad regional setting; individual places and trails also have their own specific features.
Douglas firs and aspens grow at Stoddard Creek Campground, while Stoddard Creek runs just below the campground. Steel Creek Campground offers a different scene: it lies among willows and pines along Steel Creek. These two described campgrounds therefore offer different combinations of tree species and waterways, rather than a single, uniform forest setting.
Stoddard Creek Campground is one mile from Interstate 15 and 17 miles north of the town of Dubois. The six-mile Stoddard-Van Noy Trail loop starts and ends there. The campground’s location also makes it a clear landmark for the loop. Check trail conditions locally before setting out.
Routes with Historic Connections
The Fort Henry Historic Byway enters Clark County via Kilgore-Yale Road and continues past Camas Meadows. Sections of Kilgore-Yale Road and Red Rock Road on this byway are also part of the National Nez Perce Trail. A designated scenic route and a historic trail therefore overlap here; the shared road names connect the two without making them one and the same route.
The Lost Gold Trails Loop begins at the junction of A-2 and Red Road, east of Dubois. A-2 and Spencer/Idmon Road on the loop are closed in winter. Take this seasonal restriction into account when planning your route, and check road conditions before you drive.
Near Spencer is the privately owned, fee-based Spencer Opal Mine, a source of fire opal. As access conditions may change, check them before visiting. The mine adds another clearly defined option to the historical and landscape themes for travelers interested in fire opal.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Kootenai County, Valley, Franklin County, Fremont, Bonneville, Ada, Gooding County.
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