Route of the Hiawatha

Located just off I-90 on the Idaho Montana border, midway between major airports in Spokane, WA, and Missoula, MT, the Route of the Hiawatha Rail-Trail is a scenic section of abandoned rail-bed from the Milwaukee Road that the Taft Tunnel Preservation Society, a grassroots Wallace non-profit organization, and the U.S. Forest Service turned into a world class non-motorized trail.

Opened in 1998, and enhanced in 2001 with the inclusion of the 1.7 mile long Taft Tunnel, The Route of the Hiawatha has become a very popular adventure for locals and tourists. Depending on your enthusiasm, it is either a 30 mile round trip with 2000 feet of elevation change, or 17 miles of level and downhill dirt track with a shuttle bus ride to regain your 1000 foot elevation loss. For the round trip, most people will travel from Wallace and park at Pearson, overlooking the North Fork of the St. Joe River off Forest Road 456. You are thereby climbing the 2% grade during the cool of the morning. Those wanting the shorter experience (3-4 hours) will park at the East Portal, located ~2 miles off I-90 at the Taft Exit in Montana, 5 miles from Lookout Pass on the Idaho border. Since the shuttle connects the West Portal of the Taft Tunnel, a.k.a. Roland, and the lower trailhead at Pearson, riders who park at the East Portal must ride back to their vehicles from Roland.