Highlights:
Several mountain lakes with fish, high alpine ridge walks, and a possible
climb up Baree Peak.
Location: 30 miles south of Libby at the southern tip of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.
Type of hike: A long day hike or leisurely three-day backpacking trip loop.
Total distance: 10 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Best months: Mid-June through September.
Maps:
Goat Peak and Silver Butte Pass USGS Quads, Cabinet Mountains Wilderness
Map, and Kootenai National Forest Map.
Finding the trailhead: Drive west of Kalispell on U.S. Highway 2 for 59 miles and turn left, heading southwest on Silver Butte Road (Forest Road 148). After 3.4 miles, stay right past a private drive to the left and continue on FR 148. After 9.2 miles, pass the turnoff for Bear Lakes Trailhead and continue straight on FR 148 for another mile. At 10 miles, turn right and drive 0.2 mile to Baree Lake Trailhead underneath the powerlines.
Parking & trailhead facilities: Ample parking at the trailhead, no restrooms, filterable water out of Baree Creek to the south.
Key points
3.0 Spur trail to Baree LakeThe hike: If you do not like to retrace your steps and you dislike the difficult two-car logistics that most one-way hikes involve, you should like this hike. The trailheads to the two lakes are less than a mile apart, and the lakes are connected by a trail along the top of the Cabinet Divide.
3.5 Cabinet Crest Trail (360)
4.5 Junction with Divide Cutoff Trail (63) to Bear Lakes
6.0 Junction with trail to Big Bear Lake and Bear Lakes Trail (178)
9.0 Bear Lakes Trailhead
10.0 Baree Lake Trailhead
Baree Creek Trail (489) reaches Baree Lake in 3 miles and gains 1,700 feet. A spur trail heads left down to the lake where there is a survey cabin and a snow gauging station. The lake is very pretty and offers views up to the Cabinet Divide along beargrass- and huckleberry-covered slopes.
After Baree Lake, the trail makes a steady climb
to the Cabinet Divide, then follows Cabinet Crest Trail (360) along the
divide to the north. The view from the ridge is excellent, particularly
to the west and the northwest into Swamp Creek, Wanless and Buck Lakes,
and the peaks surrounding them. Although grizzlies are uncommon along the
Cabinet Divide, huckleberries (grizzly food) are, and you may want to make
noise along the trail as an extra precaution.
After a mile of ridgeline hiking, turn right (east)
at an unmarked junction on the Divide Cutoff Trail (63) to Bear Lakes.
The trail that continues left along the ridge appears to be more heavily
used than this route down. This trail runs just below the top of a spur
ridge off the Cabinet Divide.
Without continuing along the ridge, you can follow Divide Cutoff Trail on a gentle downward traverse to the junction with Iron Meadow Trail (113) and Bear Lakes Trail (178). Follow Bear Lakes Trail back to Silver Butte Road. The trail descends past a spur trail to the outlet of the southernmost Bear Lake, then generally southeast through forested country. After reaching the powerline corridor that runs parallel to Silver Butte Road, follow it southwest for a mile to Baree Lake Trailhead and your vehicle.
Options: The Trail Creek and Iron Meadows areas to the north and east of Bear Lakes offer interesting variations on the Baree/Bear Lakes hike. One variation requires leaving a car at Silver Dollar Trailhead, 9 miles up West Fisher River Road (4 miles north on US 2). Rather than returning to Silver Butte Road from Bear Lake, take the Iron Meadow Trail (113). You will walk through some of the best elk country in the Kootenai Forest. From Iron Meadow, take Silver Dollar Trail (114) to your vehicle.
