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The State Line Road #391
starts near the famous "Route of
the Hiawatha" This 15 mile long bicycle trail includes
the 2 mile long Taft Tunnel and is a converted railroad grade
with long trestles. Find
out how to get here and learn more about the Route of the Hiawatha
at: "Route
of the Hiawatha" The Route of the Hiawatha is a great downhill bicycle ride, but the real adventure starts 1000' vertical feet above the 2 mile long "Taft Tunnel" on the State Line Road. |
Snow covered until Mid May, Dominiun Peak is the site of an old lookout tower and a beautiful 360 degree vista. The State Line Road is open to most passenger cars after spring snow melt, but spur roads like the one to the summit of Dominiun Pk is best suited for 4WD. There are no developed camp sites along the State Line Trail, Practice "No Trace" camping techniques at all undeveloped camp sites. |
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Camp Time® Tables, Chairs, Cots and Stools are so compact and portable that they make any campsite feel like home in just minutes, like this campsite near Craddock Peak. Please view the 'World's Most Portable Camp Furniture" at: Camp Specialties |
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| Gold Saddle Pass is a
good starting point for a 36 mile bicycle tour back to the Taft
Tunnel. If you plan this bike trip just before the last snow has
melted in May or June, your trip will have no competition from vehicles
or snow-sleds: The bare road sections will keep snowmobiles away, and the lingering
snowdrifts will keep vehicles away. In addition, the occasional fallen tree
will make the bicycle trip an adventure all by
yourself.
There is a good water source on the road near Ward Peak. |
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| The State Line Road #391 turns
into the State Line Trail #738 at Dry Creek Saddle. From the densely
forested road, the trail climbs out of the trees and climbs up to the
summit of Eagle Cliff Peak and its spectacular 360 degree vista of
Cliff and Diamond Lakes nearly 2000 feet below.
For the next 50 miles, the trail hugs the Bitterroot Crest twisting into lush/green saddles and climbing across rocky peaks. Every turn provides a new vista ! |
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Lakes are visible in almost every direction from the trail, but finding water on the trail is rare. Unless you like hiking down down to lakes 2000' below the trail, make sure that you carry extra water. An excellent water source on the trail between Ward Peak and Hoodoo Pass is directly south of Binocular Peak. This water source is a year round cold spring with good campsites in the vicinity. |
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| The State Line Trail and
surrounding area is the proposed "Great Burn
Wilderness". In 1910 one of the largest fires that ever
burned in the west roasted millions of acres here and burned up a
magnificent old growth forest. The blaze was allegedly set from
sparks generated by a train using the Taft Tunnel.
Today, you can still see remnants of the huge trees that are floating in many of the alpine lakes like the 3' diameter tree trunks of Bonanza Lakes. |
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| Crater Mountain has a circular
summit ring like a volcano. It forms a striking silhouette along the State Line
Trail from Hoodoo Peak to Steep Lakes.
Crater Mountain has no trail to the summit, but an enjoyable scramble is easily accomplished from either Crater Lake or from Straight Creek. View the "Backpackers Dream" at the summit of Crater Mountain: Crater Mountain Summit View |
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| State Line Trail ridge camping is at its very best above just above Steep Lakes. No air mattress is needed here. The grass is almost a foot thick and feels so good ! | |
| This section of the trail is
great for bicycles too. From Schley Mtn to Kid Lake,
the trail is an old mining road. The State Line Trail is currently
administered as a wilderness, but because it has yet to be designated a
wilderness, bicycles are still allowed.
The bicycle campsite in this picture is 1000' above Cedar Log Lake. The grass is a foot thick! |
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South of Schley Mountain may be the most beautiful and challenging section of the State Line Trail. The trail is hard to follow to Leo Lakes and not maintained at all until Cache Creek Saddle. A report of this area is under construction at Cache Creek Saddle. Rhodes Peak is the highest peak along the SLT and has a rewarding trail register. The trail register is maintained by a club out of Lewiston, Idaho and holds hours of reading enjoyment. Learn about other SLT hikers at Rhodes Peak. |
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| Thank you for taking the State
Line Road/Trail tour.
Please email dave@campspecialties.com if you have any questions. Also view the "World's Most Portable Camp Furniture" including Roll-a-Table, Roll-a-Stool, Roll-a-Cot and Roll-a-Chair at Camp Specialties |