Salmon River / Lemhi

4,500–10,000 ft · ID🚗 Directions

Salmon-Challis NF and Frank Church Wilderness fringe. Remote rugged terrain. Lodgepole and Douglas fir. Excellent morel habitat in fire scars. Low competition.

Trees:Douglas Fir Lodgepole Pine Engelmann Spruce

Permit Info →

Updated Jul 13, 4:03 AM MT

AI Conditions Report

AI-generated · verify in field

**Salmon River/Lemhi is Tier A right now because soil temps have stabilized at 61–62°F with sustained moisture (0.27 VWC 7-day average) following that 3-inch rain two weeks back.** The entire bolete guild is firing—Birch Boletes, Chicken-Fat, Bitter, Scarers—plus reliable Amanitas (Panther, Coker's) and woody species (Reishi, Birch Polypore, Red-Belted Conk). The one catch: you're sitting on high desiccation risk with only 0.08" rain in the last 7 days and zero SWE remaining. That moisture window is *closing*. **Flush timing is now through mid-week; after that, without additional precip, soil VWC will drop and your window compresses.** Priority species: mobile boletes that fruit fast (Chicken-Fat, Scarers), since they'll peter out first as drying accelerates. Woody polypores and Reishi are your hedge—they're already established and less weather-sensitive. Hot tip: Scout north-aspect draws and seeps at 8,500–9,500 ft where retained snowmelt keeps soil cooler and damper longer—that's your extended window.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.

Foraging Potential75/100

✅Moisture

✅Soil Temp

✅No Freeze

✅No Drought

Precip 7d

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Nearby Camping

Within(3)

Morse Creek Campground

developed

USFS~4.8 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Reserve →

Bear Valley Trailhead/Upper Campground

dispersed

USFS~6.5 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Reserve →

Bear Valley Horse Camp

developed

USFS~6.5 mi from centerFee required/night

Salmon-Challis National Forest

Reserve →

⚠ Road Access Notice

Always verify road access is public before following GPS directions to mountain areas. Many forest roads are seasonal, gated, or require 4WD. Dispersed camping follows USFS/BLM rules (typically 14-day limit). Check ranger district offices for current road and campground conditions.