North Fork is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Lemhi County

Lemhi County, Idaho

Lemhi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. The county was established in 1869, named after Fort Lemhi , a remote Mormon missionary settlement from 1855-58 in Bannock and Shoshone territory. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 7,806...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

.

Its name is derived from confluence of the south-flowing North Fork of the Salmon River

Salmon River (Idaho)

The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...

 with the north-flowing main Salmon River, which makes a near-right angle turn here to flow westward across the state to Riggins

Riggins, Idaho

Riggins is a city in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. It is nestled deep in a canyon at the confluence of the Salmon River and the Little Salmon River in west central Idaho, approximately 150 highway miles north of Boise, and 120 highway miles south-southeast of Lewiston...

. US 93

U.S. Route 93

U.S. Route 93 is a major north–south United States highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the Canadian border north of Eureka in Lincoln County, Montana, where the roadway continues into Roosville,...

 serves the community, connecting it with Salmon

Salmon, Idaho

Salmon is a city in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,122 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lemhi County...

 to the south and Lost Trail Pass

Lost Trail Pass

Lost Trail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, on the border of Idaho and Montana in the Bitterroot Mountains. The pass is at an elevation of 7014 feet above sea level and is traversed by U.S. Highway 93...

 to the north.

Long time families in the community include Cummings, Prestwich, Randolph, Hughes, Smith, and Maxwell. The community of North Fork is built around the “North Fork Store” which also houses a post office and small liquor store. There are two hotels and a U.S. Forest Service Station.

The community area includes a non-domination Christian Church .5 miles South East of North Fork and a small private Catholic Chapel some 5 miles North just off U.S. Highway 93 North.

Notable creeks with trails and stunning vistas include:
Trail Gulch, Fourth of July, Hull Creek, Hughes Creek, Lick Creek, Ditch Creek, Burns Gulch, Indian Creek, and Ulysses Lookout.

Lewis and Clark traveled through this area and met with a local Indian man, Toby, who got the expedition lost crossing into Montana. Historians believe that they found Toby and enlisted his help as a guide at the confluence of the North Fork and Salmon rivers, or at the mouth of what is now known as “Hull Creek,” named after homesteader John Hull. A monument once stood to commemorate this meeting. This led to the name of the Idaho/Montana mountain pass, "Lost Trail." Also named from this, is the "Lost Trail Mountain Ski Area."

The elevation of North Fork is 3620 feet (1103 m) above sea level.