Montana’s Cabinet Mountains Are Packed With Winter Adventure

Doubled over at the waist, my trekking poles supported my body and 50 pounds of winter-camping gear in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness. I can’t muster the breath to curse whoever constructed this trail.

Over the course of a little more than 4 miles (6.4 km), I have climbed almost 4,000 feet (1219 m). The first climb was on an improbably steep old mining road, then on singletrack. Yet, I still cannot see the lookout that marks the summit of Star Peak, on the Idaho/Montana border.

Then the summit appears, yielding views of the upthrust ridge of Billiard Table Mountain and the fog-enshrouded Bull River valley. In the distance, pyramidal A Peak and Snowshoe Peak demarcate the northern edge of the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness area.

I’m on the summit of a peak that barely lunges past the 6,000-foot mark (1829 m). Lake Pend Oreille and its tributaries are almost directly beneath me, more than 4,000 feet below. I’ve heard this is a mountain goat country. Now I know why.

Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, Montana

About Cabinet Mountain Wilderness

When French-Canadian fur trappers first surveyed the mountain range straddling the Idaho/Montana border just this side of Canada, they dubbed it the Cabinet Mountains, for the sheer shelves of rock that loomed over the rivers below.

In the intervening 200 years, the snowshoe technology used to cross the Cabinets may have changed, but little else has.

The Cabinet Mountains are commonly noted to be one of the wildest mountain ranges in the lower 48 states. Grizzly bears, mountain goats, and even wolverines take refuge amongst its glacier-carved cirques and hanging valleys.

The Cabinet Mountain Wilderness protects almost 100,000 acres of alpine lakes and knife-edge peaks in the heart of the range. Think of it as an off-the-beaten-path alternative to Glacier National Park.

Read More: Glacier National Park: Catch The Rocky Mountain Snowshoe High

A Wild Winter Destination

Separated from the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness by a two-lane state highway, the 88,000-acre Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Study Area is perhaps the largest intact tract of unprotected wildlands in the Cabinet Mountain range.

Although it lacks the abundance of glittering alpine lakes of the nearby wilderness, the Scotchman Peaks are no less wild. Bounded by the Clark Fork and Bull rivers, the Scotchmans boast jagged summits, avalanche-scraped cirques, subalpine meadows, and rugged, brushy drainages.

Thanks to a maritime-influenced climate, the Cabinets boast abundant precipitation; some Sno-Tel sites in the range routinely register the highest snowpack in Montana.

Deep powder, coupled with trails easily accessed from the surrounding river valleys, rate the Cabinets as one of the region’s wildest winter destinations.

Snowshoe Trails in Cabinet Mountain Wilderness

Below, three snowshoe treks introduce winter adventurers to the Cabinet Mountains.

Star Peak

Star Peak, Montana

The view of Star Peak

Star Peak also referenced née Squaw Peak in some maps and guidebooks crowns the southern portion of the Scotchman Peaks area. At its 6,167-foot (1880 m) summit sits an active fire lookout with 360-degree views of the Bull River Valley, Lake Pend Oreille and the two highest peaks in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, A Peak and Snowshoe Peak. Just below the lookout sits a century-old rock shelter and one of the best outhouse views in the region.

From its trailhead on Highway 200 just west of Heron, the Big Eddy trail—one of five that gains the summit of Star Peak—climbs 4,000 feet in 4.5 miles (7.2 km). The Big Eddy trail isn’t the steepest in the region, but it’s close enough. However, because it’s in the trees—first Douglas-fir, then lodgepole pine—until just short of the top, the Big Eddy trail is relatively protected from avalanches. Pitch a four-season tent in the lee of the rock shelter for one of the region’s best winter-camping experiences.

Directions to Star Peak

From Heron, Montana, drive west on Highway 200 two miles to an unmarked, steeply ascending jeep road on the right side of the highway, directly opposite a large pullout. Park in the pullout, cross the highway and ascend the jeep road 0.3 miles to the Big Eddy trailhead.

Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area

Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area, Montana

Snowshoeing among giants in the Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area

If you aren’t keen on the physical rigor of Star Peak, the Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area will exhaust your vocabulary of superlatives. The area is tucked in moisture-trapping creek drainage high above the Bull River valley on the east side of the Scotchman Peaks.

The scenic area shelters some truly astonishing tree specimens. A 0.9-mile (1.4 km) interpretive trail winds around and under massive western redcedars. Some of the tree giants in this area are up to eight feet (2.4 m) in diameter and 175 feet tall (53 m)—some of Montana’s largest, oldest trees.

In the winter, snowshoe the 3-mile (4.8 km) access road to access the cathedral-quiet grove. Stand in awe of snow-covered cedars that attained old-growth status well before explorers spied the Americas.

Directions to Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area

From Troy, Montana, drive east two miles on Highway 2. Turn right on Highway 56, and drive 18 miles (29 km) to Ross Creek Road (FS Road 398). Turn right and drive 1 mile (1.6 km) to the winter parking area.

Berray Mountain

bighorn sheep on Berray Mountain, Montana

Look out for bighorn sheep on the trail!

Snowshoe to a lookout with next-door-neighbor views of the interior of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness on the 5-mile (8 km) trek to Berray Mountain.

Located outside the boundaries of both the wilderness and the Scotchmans, Berray boasts great views of both. Situated in a drier, lower-elevation forest than Ross Creek Cedars, Berray Mountain trail winds its way through ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs en route to subalpine meadows beyond.

Periodic openings in the canopy on the first half of the trail peek into the Scotchmans’ Pillick Ridge and Star Peak. It’s a nice reward for snowshoers looking for a trek shorter than 10 miles.

Close at hand, keep a keen eye out for bighorn sheep. Berray Mountain is home to a herd of about a hundred, which like to congregate on Highway 56 in the winter and lick the salt-based de-icer off the highway.

Directions to Berray Mountain

From Noxon, Montana, drive five miles west on Highway 200. Turn right onto Highway 56 and drive 8 miles (12.8 km) to Bull River Road. Turn right and drive one mile to the Berray Mountain trailhead, on the left side of the road.

Swamp Creek

Snowshoers who venture to Swamp Creek can amble up to 13 miles (20.9 km) in a broad, glacier-carved valley that accesses the southern end of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. While passing through hemlock-shaded forest and beaver-dammed wetlands, marvel at the geologic history etched out of the canyon walls.

Two interpretive signs at the beginning of the trail illuminate a more-recent event that shaped the landscape. The catastrophic wildfires of 1910 burned over three million acres in Montana and beyond. The fire became a formative moment in the history of the then-fledgling Forest Service.

A little more than 4 miles (6.4 km) of mostly level ambling will put snowshoers on the wilderness boundary and a good turnaround point. A handful of small, slide-prone talus slopes warrant caution. Make sure to check area conditions before embarking.

Directions to Swamp Creek

From Noxon, Montana, drive 5 miles (8 km) east on Highway 200. Near milepost 20, turn left onto Swamp Creek Loop Road. Drive 2.5 miles (4 km), and, when the main road curves right, turn left (the left turn is marked as Swamp Creek Road). Then, drive 2 miles (3.2 km) and bear right on Forest Road 1119. Finally, drive 0.2 miles (0.3 km) to the trailhead. (Note: depending on snowpack, you may have to walk the last mile of Swamp Creek Road.)

Après Snowshoe

Unlike, for example, Washington’s Methow Valley, you won’t find brewpubs or white-linen restaurants in the small towns of northwestern Montana. However, you can experience a unique base for exploration of the Bull River side of the Scotchmans. Adjacent to the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, rent the historic Bull River Guard Station near Noxon.

The guard station was built in 1908 by Granville “Granny” Gordon, the first District Ranger on the Cabinet National Forest (now the Kootenai National Forest). It was used first as a home and office for Gordon and his family, then as a seasonal guard station. Gordon also constructed the stone shelter at the summit of Star Peak.

Now the Forest Service rents out the guard station, which sleeps six and offers electric lights and appliances. In winter, the furnace will warm you up after trips to the outhouse; there’s no plumbing at the guard station.

cabin in Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, Montana

Relax after a day of snowshoeing at Bull River Guard Station in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

The cabin is truly snowshoe-in/snowshoe-out. In winters with deep snowpack, guests may have to walk the last 1/8th mile to the cabin. Meanwhile, leisurely snowshoe walks abound on the forest roads surrounding the cabin. Furthermore, the Berray Mountain trailhead lies a mile (1.6 km) away.

Read More: Montana Cabins: Stay & Play

For more information on the Cabinet Mountains, visit LibbyMT.com or USDA Forest Service.

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1 Comment

  • Great article! Would love to have the chance to check out some of these trails. I have been to a little bit of the Scotchman Peak area and the Cabinets, but definitely want to explore more. I think it is one of the most beautiful places in the country and certainly one of the most remote and rugged. Thanks!

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