Mileage: 8-mile round trip
Difficulty: Hard
Elevation Gain: 3,300 feet
Major Hike Features: Spar Peak Trail #324 is another chance for experienced hikers to test their endurance skills. With an 8-mile roundtrip and 3,300 feet of elevation gain, you’ll be sure to give your legs a workout. As always, take care crossing Little Spar Creek depending on the time of year—early seasons can be challenging. Keep an eye out for for those views of the Cabinet and Selkirk mountain ranges, though. They’re unforgettable.
Just remember to come prepared. You’ll want to bring:
- Plenty of water. There is no water along the trail and the first two miles is on a mostly exposed and sunny slope.
- Hiking Poles. The trial is steep with loose rock.
- A map. The trail can be hard to find sometimes.
- Long pants. Overgrown brush, downed trees, can be abundant in early summer before our volunteer trail crew clears the path.
- A trowel to do your business and a bag for your trash. There is a bathroom at the Spar Lake Campground but no bathroom at the official trailhead. On the trail, you’ll have to bury your business and pack out your toilet paper.
Getting to the Trailhead: At the intersection of Highway 56 and the Revett Troy Mine Road, turn west on the mine road, watching for a small sign on the right pointing to Spar Lake. Follow this road to FS Road #384 (the next intersection). Go left and follow signs to Spar Lake.
