Trail Overview
This road starts out fairly easy but is progressively more challenging as you get deeper into the woods. If you can make it at least halfway, you'll be rewarded with a few breathtaking views of Lake Coeur d'Alene and other nearby mountains. Pay attention to the drive as these views are fleeting! Road conditions vary throughout the year due to logging equipment and weather. There's some deep mud and potholes in the spring. Although parts of it are plowed when logging is active, it is not regularly maintained. It starts out at a 2/10 for the first few miles, then the road narrows to a single-car width with limited options to pull over or turn around. It becomes a 3/10 around the halfway point;in snow/mud conditions it may be a 4/10 or harder. There's a large turn-around area about 7.5 miles in before the road gets to its most narrow points.
Difficulty
Beauty-Cedar is a fairly easy road at first and can be completed in most any car with 2WD. However, it quickly requires 4WD and higher clearance as you get deeper into the woods. I ran this road in early April when there was a mix of snow and mud, and there were some potholes a foot deep on the second half of the trail. The second half of the trail is also a tight, single-car-width road with limited options to pull over or turn around. The last few miles tend to have some very narrow spots. Overall it was a fun challenge with some decent views, but it's definitely progressively harder terrain as you get deeper into the woods. This may vary year by year, due to logging equipment fixing up or damaging the roads. It was plowed this winter due to logging but I'm not sure if it's plowed every year.
