The Cabinet Mountains stretch from Bonners Ferry in Idaho almost all the way to Missoula in Montana. To the north they are bordered by the Purcell Mountains. Lake Pend Oreille and the Kootenai river separate the Cabinets from the Selkirks to the West, and in the south the dividing line is the Clark Fork river. Eastwards, the Cabinets extend to Flathead Lake and River. The mountains were christened by French explorers, who likened the rock formations to cabinets.

The Cabinets are distinctly higher than the Coeur d’Alene Mountains to the south, with the tallest peak, Snowshoe Peak, at 8,738 feet. That peak harbors the last remaining glacier in the Cabinets, Blackwell Glacier.

The majority of the Cabinet Mountains is in public hands, administered by the Forest Service (Idaho Panhandle, Lolo and Kootenai National Forest). The area in Idaho is largely unprotected, while the Montana side boasts the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, protecting the highest peaks. The wilderness, created in 1964, consists of 94,000 acres, which is only about 5% of the Cabinets’ total expanse (an additional wilderness near Scotchman peak has been proposed).

Photo	Trail	Rating	Difficulty	Distance	Duration	Elevation Gain	High Point	Low Point	Type	Features	Status	Administration	Fees and Permits	Maps	Open To	Season	Trail#	Resources
	Big Spar Lake	2.6 / 5	Moderate	6.8 mi	2:28 h	828 ft	3,551 ft	3,238 ft	Out-and-back	Grove Lake	Unprotected	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Sawtooth Mountain Spar Lake	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	Year-around	143A
	Bramlet Lake	3.2 / 5	Moderate	6.8 mi	2:19 h	1,838 ft	5,637 ft	3,900 ft	Out-and-back	Lake	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Howard Lake	Hikers Dogs Horses	June – November	658	Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map
	Char Falls	2.6 / 5	Easy	1.2 mi	0:25 h	98 ft	4,194 ft	4,051 ft	Out-and-back	Waterfall	Unprotected	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Trestle Peak	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	Best during snowmelt
	Engle Peak	4.1 / 5	More Difficult	13.4 mi	5:37 h	5,366 ft	7,563 ft	2,738 ft	Out-and-back	Lake Mountain	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Noxon Rapids Dam Howard Lake Elephant Peak	Hikers Dogs Horses	June to October. All that ascent would be killer in showshoes…	926, 932	Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails
	Flower Point and Flower Lake	2.1 / 5	Moderate	2.3 mi	0:59 h	483 ft	4,284 ft	3,718 ft	Out-and-back	Lake Mountain	Unprotected	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Treasure Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	Year-around	16	Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails
	Gem Lake	3.9 / 5	More Difficult	3.2 mi	1:23 h	1,149 ft	5,790 ft	4,536 ft	Out-and-back	Lake	Unprotected	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Mount Pend Oreille	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	May-November	554
	Goat Mountain	3.5 / 5	More Difficult	8.0 mi	4:28 h	4,191 ft	6,381 ft	2,325 ft	Out-and-back	Mountain	Proposed Wilderness	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Scotchman Peak	Hikers Dogs Horses	Year-around	135	Friends of the Scotchman Peak Wilderness map
	Granite Lake	4.4 / 5	Moderate	13.3 mi	5:10 h	1,814 ft	4,692 ft	3,082 ft	Out-and-back	Grove Lake Rock Formation Waterfall	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Treasure Mountain Snowshoe Peak	Hikers Dogs Horses	June – October	136	Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map
	Horseshoe Pond	4.3 / 5	Strenuous	3.0 mi	2:06 h	895 ft	6,038 ft	5,236 ft	Out-and-back	Lake Meadow	Roadless Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Scotchman Peak	Hikers Dogs	July – October		Friends of the Scotchman Peak Wilderness map
	Lake Darling – Pend Oreille Divide Loop	3.8 / 5	Moderate	8.0 mi	3:18 h	1,810 ft	6,424 ft	4,605 ft	Loop	Mountain Lake Meadow	Unprotected	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Mount Pend Oreille	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	June – November	52, 67, 161
	Lake Estelle to Gem Lake Connector	3.9 / 5	Strenuous	2.6 mi	2:07 h	1,142 ft	6,417 ft	5,723 ft	Out-and-back	Mountain Lake	Unprotected	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Mount Pend Oreille Smith Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses	July – October
	Leigh Lake	3.6 / 5	More Difficult	3.2 mi	1:35 h	1,133 ft	5,207 ft	4,035 ft	Out-and-back	Lake Rock Formation Waterfall	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Snowshoe Peak	Hikers Dogs	June – October	132	Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map
	Little Spar Lake	3.4 / 5	Moderate	7.4 mi	3:30 h	1,800 ft	5,263 ft	3,430 ft	Out-and-back	Grove Lake Meadow	Roadless Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Sawtooth Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	July – October	143	Friends of the Scotchman Peak Wilderness map
	Parmenter and Flower Creek Loop	4.6 / 5	Moderate	28.1 mi	11:14 h	5,975 ft	7,548 ft	2,345 ft	Lollipop	Grove Lake Meadow Mountain Rock Formation	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Kootenai Falls Scenery Mountain Treasure Mountain Libby Crowell Mountain Little Hoodoo Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses	Late June – October	140, 360, 137, 15	Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails
	Ross Creek Cascades	3.1 / 5	Moderate	8.1 mi	3:25 h	1,463 ft	4,274 ft	2,888 ft	Out-and-back	Grove Rock Formation Waterfall	Unprotected	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Sawtooth Mountain	Hikers Dogs	April – November	142, 321
	Ross Creek Cedars Loop	2.6 / 5	Easy	1.1 mi	0:27 h	202 ft	2,969 ft	2,815 ft	Lollipop	Grove	Scenic Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Sawtooth Mountain	Hikers Dogs	Year-around, but the access road is closed for skiing during the winter months (December onward)	142, 405
	Sky Lakes and Hanging Valley Loop	4.3 / 5	Strenuous	13.6 mi	6:28 h	3,717 ft	7,141 ft	3,637 ft	Lollipop	Grove Lake Meadow Mountain Rock Formation	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Treasure Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses	July – October	135, 137	Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map
	Spar Peak	3.8 / 5	More Difficult	6.3 mi	3:08 h	2,807 ft	6,584 ft	3,699 ft	Out-and-back	Grove Meadow Mountain	Roadless Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Sawtooth Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses	July – October	324	Friends of the Scotchman Peak Wilderness map
	Taylor Peak and Minor Lake Loop	4.3 / 5	Moderate	33.9 mi	13:06 h	7,623 ft	7,193 ft	2,501 ft	Lollipop	Lake Meadow Mountain Rock Formation Grove	Wilderness Area	Kootenai National Forest	None required	Treasure Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses	Late June to October	320, 360, 139, 317	Cabinet Mountain Wilderness trails Cabinet Mountains Wilderness map
	Three Lakes Loop (Blacktail Lake, Moose Lake, Lake Estelle)	3.6 / 5	Moderate	14.6 mi	5:39 h	2,729 ft	6,543 ft	4,900 ft	Lollipop	Mountain Lake Meadow	Unprotected	Kaniksu National Forest	None required	Mount Pend Oreille Smith Mountain Benning Mountain	Hikers Dogs Horses Mountain Bikers	June – October	24, 36, 213, 237

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