Overview
North Central stretches across vast wilderness, pristine rivers, deep canyons, and rolling hills in Idaho.
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Sep. Summer highs reach about 87°F; winter lows dip to about 20°F. Cold months (Jan, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: Jun and May. (climate data from nearby Superior)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- LWS Lewiston Nez Perce County Airport, Lewiston — 77 mi away. Directions
- MYL McCall Municipal Airport, McCall — 82 mi away. Directions
- GEG Spokane International Airport, Spokane — 148 mi away (major hub). Directions
The following are additional airports in the region but with limited commercial flight options:
Full “Get in” guide ↓Sample 3-day trip
- Day 1: Moscow — University of Idaho, Rails-to-Trails, Moscow Hemp Fest.
- Day 2: Lewiston — Lewis–Clark State College, NAIA World Series, Hells Gate State Park.
- Day 3: Orofino — Dworshak Visitor Center, Dworshak Fish Hatchery, Canoe Camp - Nez Perce National Historic Park.
Built from the best-covered destinations in this region; open each for its own day plan.
Places in North Central Idaho
Understand
Cities
- Cottonwood — gateway to the Nez Perce National Historical Park
- Lewiston — a timber and logging town that is Idaho's only port city, and the furthest inland port in the western United States
- Moscow — a hard-core college town dominated by the University of Idaho
- Orofino — the main city on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, attractively set amongst tumbly semi-arid hills and the Clearwater River
Other destinations
- Nez Perce National Historical Park — many sacred sites celebrate the Nimiipuu, who have hunted, fished, and lived in the region for thousands of years
- Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area — follows the Snake River through Hells Canyon (as deep as 9,300 feet, much deeper than the Grand Canyon) north towards Lewiston, where the Clearwater and Snake Rivers meet. Contains parts of several mountain ranges, including the Salmon River Mountains, the Clearwater Mountains, and the Bighorn Crags
Get in
By plane
- Spokane International Airport (Geiger Field) (GEG) serves as a major commercial airport towards North Central Idaho via US-195 from all over the U.S. with multiple airlines.
The following are additional airports in the region but with limited commercial flight options:
- Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (PUW) serves as a regional civil aviation airport with limited commercial services from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Boise by Alaska Airlines.
- Lewiston Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) is the nearest airport to Clarkston in Lewiston towards the south end of the region. It is served only by Skywest as Delta Connection from Seattle-Tacoma and Salt Lake City.
By car
- Interstate 90 (I-90) is the major east-west route through Northern Idaho, connecting Spokane to Missoula through Coeur d'Alene where it intersects US Hwy 95.
- US Hwy 195 parallels US Hwy 95 in Washington State between I-90 in Spokane and US Hwy 95 north of Lewiston. WA-27 also winds parallel to US-195 between Spokane Valley, Colfax and Pullman. They are connected to US Hwy 95 by the following east-west state highways:
* WA-274 to ID-60: Tekoa, Washington and Willard, Idaho * WA-272 to ID-6: Colfax to US Hwy 95 in Poltach via Palouse (town) * WA-270 to ID-8: Pullman to Moscow
- Interstate 84 is the major east-west route connecting Boise to Portland through Ontario, Oregon where it intersects US Hwy 95 which goes north towards Grangeville.
Get around
By car
- US-12 serves as the main east-west highway through the region between Lewiston, Nez Perce Reservation, Orofino, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, and Missoula
- US-95 serves as the main north south highway from Ontario (Oregon) through Cottonwood, Moscow, Coeur d'Alene, and points in between.
By bus
Go Northwestern Stagelines
Buses travel through the area between Boise Airport and Spokane Airport. They go through Horseshoe Bend, Donnelly, McCall, New Meadows, Riggins, White Bird, Grangeville, Cottonwood, Craigmont, Lewiston, Moscow, Pullman, Colfax, Spokane Station (downtown). Local public transit operates on limited schedules in some of the cities & towns they serve. In other places public transit is only available on a dial-a-ride basis for locals who cannot drive.
See
A giant dog created in Cottonwood, Dog Bark Park is one of America's latest additions to the type of roadside architecture popular in the early days of automobile vacation travel when travelers would often buy gas, eat meals or stay overnight in a building that looked like something else. Dog Bark Park Inn offers an expansive continental self-serve breakfast featuring their family's secret recipe for The Prairie's Best Fruited Granola.
Nearby
My experience
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