USFS · Montana, Idaho

Kootenai National Forest

The Kootenai National Forest is a national forest located in the far northwestern section of Montana and the northeasternmost lands in the Idaho panhandle in the United States, along the Canada–US border. Of the 2.2 million acres (8,900 km2) administered by the forest, less than 3 percent is located in the state of Idaho. Forest headquarters are located in Libby, Montana. There are local ranger district offices in Eureka, Fortine, Libby, Trout Creek, and Troy, Montana. About 53 percent of the 94,272-acre (381.51 km2) Cabinet Mountains Wilderness is located within the forest, with the balance lying in neighboring Kaniksu National Forest.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest2.6 million acresUSFSMTID56 campgrounds within 10 mi118 Forest Service sites517 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesMontana, Idaho
Size2.6 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0114, region 01
Center point48.4342, -115.4783
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Kootenai National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.92 inches of precipitation, 11.8 inches of snowFebruary: 1.29 inches of precipitation, 5.4 inches of snowMarch: 1.73 inches of precipitation, 3.8 inches of snowApril: 1.14 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowMay: 1.66 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 2.04 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.91 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.74 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.09 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.82 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowNovember: 2.29 inches of precipitation, 6.3 inches of snowDecember: 2.52 inches of precipitation, 20.4 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 27.9°F averageFebruary: 31.5°F averageMarch: 39.3°F averageApril: 46.6°F averageMay: 55.6°F averageJune: 62.5°F averageJuly: 69.2°F averageAugust: 68.5°F averageSeptember: 59.2°F averageOctober: 46.2°F averageNovember: 34.7°F averageDecember: 27.3°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 in25 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Libby 1 NE RS, 4 miles from the center point at 2,096 feet, station USC00245015 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 19 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 48 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

35 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 21 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

USACE · Inside
Alexander Creek Campground
Reservable2 sites
FS · Inside
Bad Medicine Campground
First-come18 sites
FS · Inside
Big Creek Baldy. Lookout Rental
Reservable1 site
USACE · Inside
Blackwell Flats Campground
Reservable7 sites
FS · Inside
Bull River Campground and Group Site
First-come26 sites
FS · Inside
Bull River Guard Station
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Bull River Pavilion
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Camp 32
First-come8 sites
Show 4 more

44 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 118

The Forest Service lists 118 recreation sites in this forest, among them 66 trailheads, 33 campgrounds, 5 cabins, 4 boat launchs. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 58 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 517 named trails in this forest, 1,874 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Marten Creek Snowmobile Route ↗31.5
N Fork Big Creek Snowmobl Spur ↗24.7
17 Mile/Quartz Snowmobile ↗23.9
Grave Creek Snowmobile ↗20.5
Trout Creek NRT ↗19.8
Garden Ridge Snomobile Spur ↗19.4
Pete Creek Snowmobile ↗18
East Pipe/Big Creek Snowmobl ↗17.9
Keeler Snowmobile ↗16.2
Quartz Mtn Snowmobile Spur ↗16.2

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas, refreshed September 18, 2026. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 517 trails in Kootenai National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 43 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Kootenai National Forest?

2.6 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Kootenai National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Kootenai National Forest in?

The boundary crosses Montana and Idaho.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Kootenai National Forest?

35 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Alexander Creek Campground, Bad Medicine Campground and Big Creek Baldy. Lookout Rental. 56 in all are within ten miles. Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites; check the forest page for closures.

Source: Where to camp

Where are the trailheads in Kootenai National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 118 recreation sites here, including 66 trailheads, 33 campground campgrounds and 5 cabin rentalss. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Kootenai National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 48.434, -115.478. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

How dark is the night sky at Kootenai National Forest?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 11 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Are there historic places near Kootenai National Forest?

43 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge and Troy Jail.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • Description: Kootenai National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.