THREE ROADS TO JARBIDGE



     Jarbidge is a tiny "living ghost town" that lies hidden in the narrow canyon of the Jarbidge River 103 miles north of Elko, Nevada, and 65 miles west and south of Rogerson, Idaho. Jarbidge lies at an elevation of 6,200 feet above sea level. The summers are cool with an average daytime temperature of about 85° F and nighttime temperatures of about 45° F. Annual precipitation is less than 10 inches, mostly in the form of snow. Although some snow remains all year in the high mountains adjacent to the town, the snow that melts forms small streams and springs that provide water for the Jarbidge River, which runs south to north through the village. The snows also provide enough moisture to maintain dense, green forests of trees and shrubs and wild flowers that everywhere grow in profusion. Rainbow trout in the stream and mule deer in the forests are great attractions for anglers and hunters who visit Jarbidge each year.


     Within the town are about 100 houses and five or six business places. The majority of the log and frame buildings there were built between 1910 and 1932, the period when Jarbidge was a major gold producing town. All of the business places are located on the one main street that goes one-half mile through the village from north to south. The size of the town can never be enlarged since it is completely surrounded by the Humboldt National Forest. Because Jarbidge is unincorporated, the Elko County Board of Commissioners controls all administrative functions.




     There are three roads to Jarbidge that can be negotiated by the family sedan. Two of the roads enter Jarbidge Canyon from the south and west while the other comes in from the north and east. The road from the north is the only one that remains open throughout the year. The other roads are closed in winter by deep snow that accumulates in mountain passes.


     Beginning at Elko, one can travel north on Nevada Highway 225 for about 53 miles to the place where the Charleston-Jarbidge road intersects the highway. The gravel road goes eastward for another 30 miles before reaching Charleston, the site of a gold camp that predates Jarbidge itself. The road then turns north toward the Jarbidge Mountains and finally descends a very steep hill (the Elko Grade) to follow the river northward into town.


     Again beginning at Elko, one can follow the same Hwy 225 past the turnoff to Charleston. After a few more miles to Wild Horse Reservoir, another gravel road intersects the highway. This is the Gold Creek--Diamond-A road. It goes past the Gold Creek Ranger Station and then rises to a high summit. Thereafter, the road follows Meadow Creek, crosses the Bruneau River near the town of Rowland, and proceeds eastward past the Diamond-A Ranch. It joins the well-maintained Rogerson-Three Creek road at a place 11 miles north of Jarbidge.


     The most extensively used and generally most convenient route to Jarbidge begins at the small town of Rogerson, Idaho, on U.S. Highway 93, 27 miles south of Twin Falls, Idaho, and 85 miles north of Wells, Nevada. The road from Rogerson to Jarbidge is paved for the first 50 miles. The pavement ends at the top of the canyon of the East Fork of the Jarbidge River. When the pavements ends, the vehicle must slow down! The surface from the top of the steep grade east of Murphy Hot Springs, Idaho, is gravel. In the summer months, the road becomes "washboardey", (i.e., its surface is like a washboard or like corduroy) because of the abuse it is subjected to by pickup trucks and four-wheel-drive vehicles. There are no guardrails to prevent a car from falling 600 feet or more into the East Fork Canyon! The remaining 16 miles of this road to Jarbidge follow the East Fork and the winding Jarbidge River into the little hamlet.


     Jarbidge is far off the beaten path, but a family vacation there will provide a most peaceful and recreational experience found nowhere else in the United States. It is certainly worth the drive from any place in the country.