Trail of the Hiawatha

The Hiawatha Bike Trail is public property. It is on U. S. National Forest land administered by the St. Joe Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Like a ski mountain, it is operated by Lookout Pass Ski Area under a special use permit. There are "ski patrol" on the trail to help with breakdowns or injuries.

The official "Route of the Hiawatha Trail" is 15.1 miles, running from the East Portal, MT to Pearson, ID. (There is a lot of good riding out each end as well). There are 9 of 10 train tunnels and 7 of 8 trestles on this trail that are still accessible. (one tunnel is unstable and closed. One trestle burned and is gone). The longest tunnel is the St. Paul Pass Tunnel (Taft Tunnel or East Portal) at 1.66 miles. It is all downhill when starting at the East Portal, but not enough to ride your brakes. The trail itself used to be part of the railroad grade, so the way is well maintained, and you won't come across too many obstacles. The Route of the Hiawatha is one of only 15 trails to be named a "Hall of Fame" trail by the Rail-to-Trail Conservancy.

You can get your trail passes and bus tickets at the trail heads (bring cash) or get them at Lookout Pass Ski Area just off I-90 at the state line. They also rent bikes at the ski lodge. Phone: 208-744-1234. Theres also a shuttle bus service for an additional fee from Pearson, ID to the East Portal, MT.

From the bottom of the trail there are a series of Forest Service roads which are plesant and generally unchallenging if you're looking to get some more mileage in.