Mileage: 8 miles (4 miles one way)
Elevation Gain: 3,700 feet
Difficulty: Hard
Overview: The Scotchman Peak Trail is one of the most popular and well-traveled trails in northern Idaho. The summit is the highest point in Bonner County and in the Idaho Cabinets, offering sweeping views of Lake Pend Oreille, the Clark Fork River Valley, and the Selkirk Mountains. Mountain goats are abundant on ScotchmanPeak, making this a great hike for wildlife watching. If you encounter mountain goats, please keep your distance and keep them away from your food and gear! These wild animals will approach you in search of salt (from your sweat!) and they can be very dangerous. If goats become too habituated to humans, injuries or accidents between goats and humans or dogs can lead to trails being shut down or the removal of goats, and we want to avoid both of these!
Always hike prepared. You’ll want to bring:
- Plenty of water. There is no water along the trail and the first two miles are on a mostly exposed and sunny slope.
- Hiking Poles. The trail is very steep with loose rock.
- A map. The trail can be hard to find sometimes.
- Long pants. Overgrown brush and downed trees can be abundant in early summer before our volunteer trail crew clears the path.
- A trowel to do your business. If duty calls on the trail, dig a hole and pack out your toilet paper. There are porta-potties at the trailhead from May – September.
- A bag for your trash. Even sunflower seeds, orange peels, apple cores, and all other compostable waste needs to be packed out to protect this fragile and beautiful ecosystem.
Directions to Trailhead: From Clark Fork, ID, turn north at the Chevron Station. Go past the school and continue up Mosquito Creek Road #276 to the junction of Road #2295. Turn right and go a little over a mile. Watch for signs for Trail #65. Turn left on road #2294. Next, turn left on 2294A. Follow this a little over a mile to where the road ends at the trailhead.
GPS Coordinates: 48.164151, -116.098551
