NOTICE: Access to this site may be via narrow dirt or gravel roads with few turnarounds.

NOTICE: Cell service may be limited or nonexistent in the area of this site.

The high Bitterroot Divide has long provided a thoroughfare for travelers. Towering some 3,000 feet above the Clark Fork River, the State Line Trail straddles the Idaho–Montana border. But why would people follow such seemingly difficult terrain? If you’re fortunate enough to spend time along the State Line Trail, the answer will be obvious. The area is teeming with wildlife and remains a favorite hunting spot. Huckleberries are everywhere. Stone tools and projectile points scattered along its upper reaches reveal that aboriginal people utilized the area long before maps and mileage markers. It also provided a relatively direct route for Indians from the west to reach buffalo hunting grounds east of the Continental Divide.

Beginning in the 1860s, miners followed the Indian trails. Many of the prospectors moved from diggings in Idaho’s St. Joe River Basin to Cedar Creek and other mining areas in the region. With thousands of people inhabiting the drainages near the divide, its trail network became increasingly defined. In 1904, the State Line Trail came into formal existence. When U.S. Deputy Surveyor Howard B. Carpenter, a government surveyor, recorded the state boundary line from Canada south, he cut a trail that generally followed the divide to accommodate his workforce of 21 men and a 44-horse pack train. When the Forest Service was established a year later, it assumed maintenance of Carpenter’s path, which remains the general route of the State Line Trail today.

The terrain along the State Line Trail is often celebrated for its scenic beauty, and the route has been designated a National Scenic Trail. Portions of it through Idaho are also considered part of the 900-mile Idaho Centennial Trail. Along the ridgetops, visitors can enjoy views of alpine summits, glacially carved cirques and canyons, and countless lakes. South of Hoodoo Pass, the State Line Trail traverses through the Great Burn Roadless Area. This long-proposed wilderness area, supporting some of the most remote landscapes in the region, takes its name from the aesthetic and ecological effects of the 1910 Fires. National Geographic has referred to the Great Burn as “a gem of wild beauty,” making it a prized destination for people seeking adventure, solitude, and history.

Credits and Sources:

Great Burn Study Group. The Great Burn Wilderness Area: Yours to Discover. First Edition, September 2014.

Hahn, Margie. Montana’s Mineral County in Retrospect. Stevensville, MT: Stoneydale Press Publishing Company, 1997.

Johnson, Jenny. “Overview of the Collection.” Howard B. Carpenter Papers, 1904–1907. Moscow: University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives, 2011.

Ralph S. Space, The Clearwater Story: A History of the Clearwater National Forest. Orofino, Id.: Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Clearwater Historical Society, 1981.

Historic photographs of “Fishing Trail Lake,” “Hiking State Line,” and “Pearl Lake” courtesy of the Gildersleeve Collection, Mineral County Historical Museum, Superior, MT.

Contemporary photographs of Missoula Lake and Stateline Trail courtesy of Historical Research Associates, Inc.