Hiking in McCroskey State Park - a Gem of a Find in Idaho

I have a couple of great hiking books: Best Hikes with Dogs Western Washington and Best Hikes with Dogs Inland Northwest. The Inland Northwest book covers parts of British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Montana.  Every summer, I look for hikes that we can do and we enjoy exploring new trails.  Hiking is one of the ways that I try to fulfill my commitment to Pongo, to provide him with adequate exercise and mental stimulation that will keep him happy and healthy.

Pongo and I were out-of-town, visiting my parents for the first week of July.  On Saturday, I invited my brother, Ben, and my sister, Beth, to go along with us.  Beth brought her dog, Calder, also a rescue dog, who we call Pongo's BFF ("best friend forever" in text lingo).  (Calder spent six weeks with us when we lived in Seattle during a period when my sister was having health problems, and the two dogs are very bonded.) We chose McCroskey State Park because it was a short drive from my parents, and had very little elevation change, proving to be a short and easy hike. Located 17 miles north of Moscow, Idaho on US 95, it was a beautiful drive through the Palouse hills, which were undulating green and gold as the wheatfields ripen.

McCroskey State Park is one of the least-known parks in Idaho, but proved to be a delightful finding for us!  We learned that it was gifted to the state by Virgil McCroskey in 1955 in honor of his mother, Mary McCroskey, and all Northwest pioneer women.  Mr. McCroskey worked hard to acquire land for his vision, including selling off the original homestead he inherited from his parents.  He was 79 years old when he gave the property to the state, who insisted that he care for the land for 15 years!  He worked on the land every day until his death at 94 years of age, which incredibly, fulfilled the 15 year commitment. 

One of the nice things about McCroskey State Park is that there is no entrance fee, as is now true for most state parks.  We wanted to hike the Mineral Mountain Trail, but were unable to find the trailhead.  I believe that the signpost is missing, as we found what probably was the trailhead, but because we were unfamiliar with the area and did not want to risk getting lost, we decided to hike the Korth Trail instead.  The Korth Trail was well-marked  and so we pulled off the road and parked.  The dogs shot excitedly out of the car.  The hike was on an old gravel road that hugs the ridgeline for 8 miles of cedar and pines. 

 

Here is a view of the forest from the Korth Trail.

 

 

Although the book mentioned that moose frequent the trail, we did not see any wildlife, nor a single person on our trek.

 Pongo finds water in a dwindling creek.

                                   
Calder happily views the ridgeline from a bank above the trail.


Because we had planned to hike the Mineral Mountain Trail, which was only a four mile trek, we did not follow the Korth Trail for the entire 8 miles.  Instead, we hiked for an hour, then turned around and retraced our steps back to the car.  It was a hot day, and we were drinking a lot of water.  Pongo was panting heavily and lagging behind Calder, though the dogs are about the same age, and they usually run side-by-side. 

Pongo lays down in the shade near the car at the end of the hike.

This is a park we will definitely go back to!  Maybe next time, we'll be able to verify the location of the Mineral Mountain Trail, which reportedly winds around to a 4128-foot summit with an old fire lookout point.  From that viewpoint, you are supposed to be able to see a panoramic of Lake C'oeur d'Alene, Steptoe and Kamiak Buttes, the Palouse hills and Moscow Mountain.  Ah, next time!