Riding the Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Bike trail: Complete Guide
Looking to take a scenic bike ride on an old railroad path through Idaho’s Bitterroot Mountains? This guide shares everything you need to know before riding the scenic Route of the Hiawatha Bike Trail, including the where the trail starts, what to bring, tickets, and much more,
After ending our time in the beautiful state of Montana, we crossed over into Idaho to check off more items on our bucket list. We got settled in at Blue Anchor RV Park in the small town of Osburn and headed out the next day to bike the Scenic Route of the Hiawatha Trail.
As Idaho’s most popular scenic trail, the Route of the Hiawatha takes you through tunnels and over trestles on an old railroad path, HOW COOL! If you have just one day or a few days to spare the Route of the Hiawatha is TOTALLY worth doing.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the Route of the Hiawatha
How to get to the Route of the Hiawatha
When to Ride
What to Bring
Amenities Nearby
About the Trail
ABOUT THE ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA
The Route of the Hiawatha is a scenic bike trail run by Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area in Northern Idaho. The trail runs 15 miles downhill with a 1.6% grade and features 10 tunnels and 7 sky high trestles. It crosses 2 states and covers what used to be the Milwaukee Road, a railroad line that ran from Chicago to Seattle in the early 1900’s. It took 9,000 men, 2 years, and nearly 250 million dollars to complete the line with its first Intercontinental freight service being on July 4th 1909. After the disastrous forest fire of 1910 and many bankruptcies, the train made its final ride through Northern Idaho in 1980.
Trail Passes (Monday - Thursday) | $18 for Ages 13 and up/ $12 for ages 5 - 12
Shuttle Passes (Monday - Thursday) | $16 for ages 13 and up/ $12 for ages 5 - 12
Friday, Saturday, Sunday Passes | $36 for ages 13 and up/$26 for ages 5 - 12 (includes shuttle pass)
In addition, Lookout Pass also offers various bike rentals for adults and children that come with a helmet and handlebar light. It’s also important to note that Ebikes and other fat tire bikes will require an additional charge of $10 to be shuttled back to the trailhead.
TIP | If you make your reservation online you can save a few dollars on each trail and shuttle pass.
GETTING TO THE ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA
Your adventure on The Route of the Hiawatha starts at Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area located at Exit 0 on I-90 on the border of Montana in Northern Idaho. The route runs through the Bitterroot Mountains and is a short drive from popular cities such as Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Missoula.
Coeur d’Alene 60 miles or 1 Hour
Spokane 90 miles or 1.5 Hours
Missoula 105 miles or 1.5 Hours
Kalispell 145 miles or 2.5 Hours
Tickets, bike rentals, maps, and souvenirs can be picked up at the Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area. Once you’ve got everything you need, you’ll head to the Hiawatha Trailhead which is about 10 minutes up the road.
From Lookout Pass head East on I-90 toward Missoula, MT. Take Exit 5 (Taft) and make a right at the stop sign. Then go left through a large vacant lot for 1/2 mile. Go right at wooden bridge onto Route 506. Continue on the dirt road for 2 miles and make a left at the fork in the road. Trailhead parking is at the top.
WHEN TO RIDE
The Route of the Hiawatha Bike Trail is open in the Summer from May 26 to September 17th. The trail opens at 8:30 a.m Mountain Time every morning and closes at 4:15 p.m. every evening (5 p.m. during peak season which is June 10th through September 6th).
Summer temps can reach 100 degrees by the afternoon so the earlier you can start the trail the better. There are a few sections that are shaded by large pine trees however most of the trail is exposed so do plan accordingly with water, hats, sunscreen, etc. We rode the Route of the Hiawatha in late August and got lucky with a cloudy day, so the weather wasn’t too bad.
WHAT TO BRING
Bike
If you are able to bring your own bike it will save you about $40 per person. If not Lookout Pass does offer a variety of bike rental options such as adult and child comfort bikes as well as standard bikes, 2 person bikes, recumbent style, adult tricycle, burley trailer, and tag-a-long. Lookout Pass does not offer Ebike rentals however you can rent them from Spokehouse E-Bike Rentals in the town of Wallace, Idaho located about 20 minutes West of the Hiawatha Trail.
Helmet
Helmets must be worn at all times when on the trail. If renting a bike from Lookout Pass helmets are included in rental. If renting helmets separately, they are $12 per helmet.
Flashlight
It’s highly recommended to bring either a headlamp or handlebar light for navigating through the 10 different tunnels found the throughout the trail. It’s also a good idea to make sure they have fresh batteries as our headlamps died on the trail and we had to use the flashlights on our phone which really wasn’t that helpful when going through a dark tunnel. Luckily there were many other people on the trail with working lights, so we were still able to see most of the time. Make sure to turn your lights off once you’re out of the tunnels to save your batteries.
Light Jacket
The 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel is the first of 10 tunnels and is a chilly 47 degrees year round so a jacket of some sort is a great idea. There is also water dripping throughout the tunnel so you may get a little wet between pedaling and the drips from the ceiling. We’ve seen some people get really dirty so Mike and I wore long sleeves and long pants so at least we wouldn’t have wet dirt stuck to our skin.
Lunch/snacks
The Trail overall is 15 miles one way and can take a couple hours to complete. There are a lot of spots with great views to sit and have lunch while you enjoy this unique scenic trail.
Water
The trail is only open in the summer and temps can get to 100 degrees by the afternoon so make sure to pack plenty of water for the day. There are a couple restrooms along the trail so you will be able to use the restroom if you need to. We love using these insulated water bottles to have ice cold water for the whole day.
Camera
You will be riding through tunnels, over trestles, with many cool pieces of history to see along the way. It’s been rated a Top Ten Pick by USA Today and Rails to Trails Hall of Fame. This might be something you only do once so make the most of it and capture as much as you can.
AMENITIES NEARBY
ON THE TRAIL
Hiawatha Trailhead (East Portal)
Main parking for the trail, vault toilet, souvenirs, drinks, and snacks are available. If you rent bikes and choose to have them delivered to the trailhead this is where you will pick them up and drop them off once you are done with the trail.
Roland Trailhead (West Portal)
Another parking lot for the trail with vault toilets available. This is where the shuttle service brings you back too once you reach the end of the trail. From here you will bike 1.7 miles back through Taft Tunnel if you parked at the main Hiawatha Trailhead (East Portal). If you are bringing your own bike and wish to avoid the Taft Tunnel then this would be where you want to park.
The next restroom available on the trail is 7 miles from the East Portal Trailhead.
Pearson Trailhead
This is the bottom of the Route of the Hiawatha and the end of the trail. If you purchased the shuttle service, this is where you will be picked up and taken back up to the Roland Trailhead (West Portal) and bike back 1.7 miles through the Taft Tunnel to the main Hiawatha Trailhead.
Wait time for the shuttle can be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, it will also take about 30 or 40 minutes for the shuttle to get to the West Portal trailhead.
TOWNS NEARBY
Wallace
A small town located about 20 minutes from the Route of the Hiawatha. It’s known for being the world’s largest silver producer.
Lodging
Wallace Inn
The Brooks Hotel
Ryan Hotel
Hercules Inn
Wallace RV Park
Blue Anchor RV Park
Food
Blackboard Cafe
The Fainting Goat Wine Bar & Restaurant
Muchachos Tacos
City Limits Pub & Grill
Our campsite at Blue Anchor RV Park in Osburn, Idaho 25 minutes from Route of the Hiawatha.
ABOUT THE TRAIL
The 15 mile downhill Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Bike Trail starts at the East Portal Trailhead in Montana. The trail starts with a cold, dark, and slightly damp ride through the 1.7 mile Taft Tunnel. The entrance to the tunnel looks a little eerie and the sounds of the water dripping plus the darkness made it feel like we were suddenly in every horror movie we’ve ever seen. We saw no light at the end of the tunnel for a good while and It took us nearly 20 minutes to ride through. It was exciting and scary.
Note: There are gutters on either side of the path so it’s recommended to ride in the middle until you reach the end of the tunnel.
Once you reach the end of the tunnel, you’ll come out to a beautiful waterfall off to the right and the West Portal Trailhead just a little bit further down. For the next 1.4 miles you’ll have gorgeous views of the Bitterroot Mountains.
Note: This part of the trail is shared with the shuttle bus and other cars that may be driving through so be cautious when riding through here.
Continuing on for another 1.8 miles you’ll pass through 3 more tunnels each varying in length. There is a 4th tunnel that you will see but it is blocked off and an alternate path has been made. Remember to turn your lights on when you enter the tunnel and off when you exit to conserve your battery.
5.3 miles into the trail you’ll come up to your first sky high trestle. This is a good place to pull over, grab your camera and take in the views. Look out into the distance and you’ll see other trestles hidden in the trees, it’s pretty cool.
The next 4.6 miles you’ll ride over 6 trestles and through 4 more tunnels. This is where we decided to turn around and bike back up 9 miles to the trailhead since we decided to not go with the shuttle service. We road in first gear and stopped a couple more times along the way back up. It was a little brutal but still worth it in our opinion.
The last 4.4 miles of the trail are in mostly through large pine trees, passing through 1 more tunnel before you reach the Pearson Trailhead at the end of the trail. If you chose the shuttle service, this is where they will pick you up and bring you to Roland Trailhead (West Portal).
We hope you found this guide helpful in planning your trip to the Route of the Hiawatha! Comment below if you’ve ever rode this scenic trail and how you liked it!
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HEY THERE!
WE’RE MIKE & DEANDRA.
Two adventure seekers traveling the U.S in our 37 FT. travel trailer with our two companions, Griffin & Lucy. We share our life on the road and travel guides to our favorite destinations.
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