18 – Paddock Valley Dam
Paddock Valley Dam is an earthen dam in Washington County, Idaho, built in 1949 by the Little Willow Irrigation District. Paddock Valley Reservoir is a 1,500-acre irrigation reservoir located in the remote foothills of Washington County..
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Coordinates: 44.19790, -116.59903
Elevation: 3222 ft
Difficulty: 3
What to Expect: No info
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Never been down this valley before. Nice ride with good sweepers on the pavement. Missed the turn on the way in to the dam but grabbed a picture at the reservoir. Then ran into Dan Huff on the way out and he guided me to the dam, where the final picture was taken. Much appreciated.
This is an interesting place to visit. It is a long gravel road to get there. Just the last half mile or so down to the dam is a bit steep and rocky but nothing too difficult.
Was windy but otherwise a great day. Was dry everywhere that actually went to the dam. We did some extra exploring and got into some mud but had to almost seek it out. The gravel road was in good shape and gradually got rougher the farther in you went. Then the 2-track going to the dam was in good shape just a bit narrow and rocky.
It was just a short ride from the house, about 31 miles. The hardest part if the ride was fighting the wind to try to get a picture
Nice ride, took a side trail down into a canyon. When I found the right trail, it got a lot easier. Glad I went before the snakes came out. Gravel road then a two-track road last 2 miles.
The Dam was a no-go for me, in my 70th year, on a 1200cc beast and all alone… the road into the dam is a two track, deaply rutted jeep road that I would never attempt alone on the beast and even with company, I’d want a much smaller bike. I could see the two track trail going over the hill but had no idea what the road was like on the other side of that hill and being all alone, I passed. I got my pic at the boat ramp. The last three or four miles of the regular road before the reservior are pretty rutted from the rains… I’d rate that portion a class 2+…
I enjoyed the ride and went by way of Emmett, VanDuesen/Big Flat Rd to Sucker Creek RD to Dry Creek Rd and finally Little Willow Rd up to Paddock Res. This was a very fun ride and I highly recommend it! Best part of my 219 mile day!… But be aware that what google maps calls “North Washington Ave” is signed as “VanDuesen/Big Flat Rd”… and what google maps calls “Bluf Rd” is signed as “Sucker Creek rd”… other than that, google and the signs agreed. this is the route I rode and I highly recommend it! Very fun! https://maps.app.goo.gl/dhocAaVquYLYYcNJ8
Conditions were perfect. All the mud is dried up. That said this ride gets more difficult the closer you get to the challenge point. I came back via dry creek, big willow creek, succor creek. These roads were also in great shape and the hills are as green as they can get