Kootenai National Forest

The Kootenai

Forest Narrative
Narrative on the beauty, wonder, and activities to be found in America's Great Outdoors, especially in our corner of it!

Location Map
The Kootenai National Forest is located on the borders of Idaho and Canada in Northwest Montana and Northeast Idaho.

Forest District Map
The Kootenai National Forest is comprised of five ranger districts.

History of the Kootenai - (PDF:5.7MB)
A brief overview of the Kootenai National Forest with facts, figures, and other general information.

Featured Areas

Cabinet Mountains Wilderness
Located within the heart of the Kootenai National Forest, the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness contains over 93,000 acres of beautiful, rugged, glacier-carved mountains.

Ten Lakes Scenic Area
With the Canadian border on the north side, the Ten Lakes Area is dominated by a high ridge of the Whitefish Mountains. Alpine glaciers carved deep scallops, or cirques, and high, rim-rocked basins which shelter numerous small lakes.

Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway
This stretch of State Highway 37 parallels Lake Koocanusa for 67 miles. The view of the lake is fantastic and there are numerous camping, picnicking, and boat access points located along the byway. Two marinas are also on the byway.

Ross Creek Cedars Scenic Area
This area contains a grove of ancient western red cedar trees growing along the banks of Ross Creek. A self-guided nature trail forms two loops of different length winding among the grove and providing views of many cedars up to 8 feet in diameter and 175 feet tall. Benches along the trail afford opportunities for rest and quiet reflection on the beauty and wonders of our natural world.

Other Areas

Libby Dam
Located 17 miles North of Libby, the Kootenai Dam provides recreation, scenic driving, and wildlife viewing along the Koocanusa Reservoir created by the dam.

Kootenai Falls
Located approximately 15 miles west of Libby on US Highway 2, Kootenai Falls County Park is a great place to view beautiful waterfalls and visit the swinging bridge which spans the Kootenai River.