Highlights: Lake-filled alpine scenery in one of the last roadless areas in the northern Whitefish Range.
Location: 50 miles north of Whitefish.
Type of hike: Shuttle two- or three-day backpacking trip.
Total distance: 12 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Best months: Mid-July through September.
Maps: Ksanka Peak and Stahl Peak USGS Quads, and Kootenai National Forest Map.
Finding the trailhead: Drive north of Whitefish on U.S. Highway 93 for 41.5 miles (8 miles south of Eureka) and turn northeast onto paved Grave Creek Road (Forest Road 114). After 10 miles, the pavement ends; stay right past the Stahl Creek Road turnoff, continuing on FR 114. After 13.8 miles, turn left onto FR 319. After 24.7 miles from US 2, FR 319 reaches the junction with FR 7086.
To reach Wolverine Creek Trailhead, turn right and follow FR 7086, a less-improved dirt road, for 2 miles to the junction with FR 7091. Stay left (right takes you to Rainbow Trailhead) on FR 7086 for another 0.3 mile to the trailhead on your right. This is also the trailhead for a 3-mile cutoff trail (Tie Thru Trail 82) between Bluebird and Wolverine Trailheads.
The point-to-point hike requires leaving a car at Big Therriault Lake. From the junction of FR 7086 and FR 319, go left instead of right and follow FR 319 for 2.5 miles to the junction with FR 7116 and FR 7085. Stay left on FR 7116 for 0.5 mile to Big Therriault Lake Campground and Trailhead.
Parking & trailhead facilities: Trailhead registers, parking, restrooms and campgrounds at Big Therriault Lake and Little Therriault Lake, both have trailheads for Highline Trail access. Wolverine Creek Trailhead has ample parking, but no restrooms.
Key points
2.5 Wolverine Lakes
Location: 50 miles north of Whitefish.
Type of hike: Shuttle two- or three-day backpacking trip.
Total distance: 12 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Best months: Mid-July through September.
Maps: Ksanka Peak and Stahl Peak USGS Quads, and Kootenai National Forest Map.
Finding the trailhead: Drive north of Whitefish on U.S. Highway 93 for 41.5 miles (8 miles south of Eureka) and turn northeast onto paved Grave Creek Road (Forest Road 114). After 10 miles, the pavement ends; stay right past the Stahl Creek Road turnoff, continuing on FR 114. After 13.8 miles, turn left onto FR 319. After 24.7 miles from US 2, FR 319 reaches the junction with FR 7086.
To reach Wolverine Creek Trailhead, turn right and follow FR 7086, a less-improved dirt road, for 2 miles to the junction with FR 7091. Stay left (right takes you to Rainbow Trailhead) on FR 7086 for another 0.3 mile to the trailhead on your right. This is also the trailhead for a 3-mile cutoff trail (Tie Thru Trail 82) between Bluebird and Wolverine Trailheads.
The point-to-point hike requires leaving a car at Big Therriault Lake. From the junction of FR 7086 and FR 319, go left instead of right and follow FR 319 for 2.5 miles to the junction with FR 7116 and FR 7085. Stay left on FR 7116 for 0.5 mile to Big Therriault Lake Campground and Trailhead.
Parking & trailhead facilities: Trailhead registers, parking, restrooms and campgrounds at Big Therriault Lake and Little Therriault Lake, both have trailheads for Highline Trail access. Wolverine Creek Trailhead has ample parking, but no restrooms.
Key points
2.5 Wolverine Lakes
4.5 Junction with Highline Trail (319)
6.0 Bluebird Lake 6.3 Bluebird Lake Trail (83)
9.3 Therriault Pass, Trail 339 continues to Stahl Peak Trail
12.0 Big Therriault Lake Trailhead
The hike: The Ten Lakes Scenic Area receives more than its fair share of snow in the winter, so don't attempt this hike before July 4th. In addition, Ten Lakes has a few resident grizzly bears, so follow all the standard precautions for camping in bear country.
From Wolverine Creek Trailhead, Wolverine Creek Trail (84) starts on the right side of the road, and Tie Thru Trail (82) to Bluebird Lake Trailhead starts on the left. (You can come back via Bluebird Lake Trail (83) and Tie Thru Trail to make a loop, but you miss the Stahl Peak area beyond Bluebird Lake.)
Wolverine Creek Trail to Wolverine Lakes climbs steeply at first. At 2.5 miles, the trail flattens out past Wolverine Lakes Basin. Near Wolverine Lakes is a small cabin. This area is also popular with snowmobilers in the winter (snowmobiling is allowed under scenic area but not wilderness designation). Then the trail reaches the ridge between the Ten Lakes Basin on the north and the Wolverine Flats on the south. The views are expansive in all directions, with glimpses of ranges such as the ice-clad Bugaboos far into Canada.
At 4.5 miles is the junction with Highline Trail (339). Stay left and follow this trail westward and then southward across the slopes of Green Mountain into the Bluebird Lake Basin. Before reaching Bluebird Lake, stay right past the junction with Paradise Camp Trail and Bluebird Cabin.
At 6 miles, Highline Trail reaches a short spur trail to the right for Bluebird Lake. Some of the lakes in this area receive heavy summer use. A quarter of a mile past Bluebird Lake on Highline Trail is the junction with Bluebird Lake Trail. (It is 2.5 miles to Bluebird Trailhead and another 3 miles back to Wolverine Trailhead via Tie Thru Trail.)
Continuing on Highline Trail to the southeast across the northern shoulder of St. Clair Peak, pass the junction with the trail to Little Therriault Lake; stay right for another 3 miles to Therriault Pass. At Therriault Pass, it is worth a side trip up to the top of Stahl Peak to visit the lookout and get a panoramic view of the southern portions of the Ten Lakes region. Keep your eyes open for bighorn sheep, which wander the crags during the summer months. Ernest Thompson Seton, the famous naturalist, wrote of the wild sheep in this area in several of his short stories published around the turn of the century. In fact, his namesake mountain, Mount Thompson Seton, lies 7 miles to the southeast of Stahl Peak.
Retrace your steps to Therriault Pass, pick up your pack, and continue down Trail 80, heading north to Big Therriault Lake Campground and your waiting vehicle
From Wolverine Creek Trailhead, Wolverine Creek Trail (84) starts on the right side of the road, and Tie Thru Trail (82) to Bluebird Lake Trailhead starts on the left. (You can come back via Bluebird Lake Trail (83) and Tie Thru Trail to make a loop, but you miss the Stahl Peak area beyond Bluebird Lake.)
Wolverine Creek Trail to Wolverine Lakes climbs steeply at first. At 2.5 miles, the trail flattens out past Wolverine Lakes Basin. Near Wolverine Lakes is a small cabin. This area is also popular with snowmobilers in the winter (snowmobiling is allowed under scenic area but not wilderness designation). Then the trail reaches the ridge between the Ten Lakes Basin on the north and the Wolverine Flats on the south. The views are expansive in all directions, with glimpses of ranges such as the ice-clad Bugaboos far into Canada.
At 4.5 miles is the junction with Highline Trail (339). Stay left and follow this trail westward and then southward across the slopes of Green Mountain into the Bluebird Lake Basin. Before reaching Bluebird Lake, stay right past the junction with Paradise Camp Trail and Bluebird Cabin.
At 6 miles, Highline Trail reaches a short spur trail to the right for Bluebird Lake. Some of the lakes in this area receive heavy summer use. A quarter of a mile past Bluebird Lake on Highline Trail is the junction with Bluebird Lake Trail. (It is 2.5 miles to Bluebird Trailhead and another 3 miles back to Wolverine Trailhead via Tie Thru Trail.)
Continuing on Highline Trail to the southeast across the northern shoulder of St. Clair Peak, pass the junction with the trail to Little Therriault Lake; stay right for another 3 miles to Therriault Pass. At Therriault Pass, it is worth a side trip up to the top of Stahl Peak to visit the lookout and get a panoramic view of the southern portions of the Ten Lakes region. Keep your eyes open for bighorn sheep, which wander the crags during the summer months. Ernest Thompson Seton, the famous naturalist, wrote of the wild sheep in this area in several of his short stories published around the turn of the century. In fact, his namesake mountain, Mount Thompson Seton, lies 7 miles to the southeast of Stahl Peak.
Retrace your steps to Therriault Pass, pick up your pack, and continue down Trail 80, heading north to Big Therriault Lake Campground and your waiting vehicle
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