Where: Grangeville, Idaho
What: ApHC Chief Joseph Trail Ride
When: July
History Relived
Each year, the Chief Joseph Trail Ride retraces a different 100 miles or so of the 1877 “flight to freedom” of the Nez Perce Indians. This year’s ride winds through Idaho’s White Bird Battlefield southwest of Grangeville. White Bird was the opening battle of the war between the Nez Perce and the United States Army; the struggle ended more than 1,500 miles later with Chief Joseph’s surrender in Montana’s Bear Paw Mountains.
The Facts: 13 | Number of yearly rides it takes to complete the full, 1,170-mile Nez Perce National Historic Trail.
Sponsored by the Appaloosa Horse Club, this historic ride is open only to registered Appaloosas (whose name stems from the Palouse River running through the heart of Nez Perce country, where the resident Indians—actually Nimíipuu or “Nee-Me-Poo”—selectively bred their colorful horses).
Non-riders can visit the campsite on Sunday before the ride, or see the group off on Monday morning. Pre-ride activities include the blessing of the ride and a dinner dance with live DJ.
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Don’t Miss This
explore.
Learn about the Nez Perce Indians at the 1. Historical Museum at St. Gertrude in nearby Cottonwood, or check out Grangeville’s very own amazing 2. Columbian Mammoth Exhibit.
eat.
Grab great coffee and snacks at the 3. Crema Café in Grangeville. For homecooked fare, try 4. The Backroads Diner in Kooskia. Find craft beer and the famous Waffle Iron Chicken Sandwich at Kamiah’s 5. Clearwater Brewing Co., where Fridays are open-mic night for comedy, poetry, and story-telling.
do.
Watch a parade and join the street games and dancing at 6. Kooskia Days, July 27–28. For horseback riding, boat tours, and more, try 7. Whitebird Summit Lodge & Ranch right in Grangeville.
‘Elegant, Active, Durable’
Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame described the Nez Perce horses in a journal entry in February of 1806: “[They] appear to be of an excellent race…lofty, elegantly formed, active, and durable…. marked with large spots of white irregularly scattered and intermixed with the black, brown, bay, or some other darker color.”‘
