Upper Cedar Creek

This challenging hike dives deep into grizzly bear country and the Cabinet Mountains in Northwest Montana near Libby. It’s a beautiful route through lush landscapes, ending at a Lower Cedar Lake and Upper Cedar Lake. It’s a great route for a challenging day hike and is filled with possibilities for backpacking overnight. Be sure to take precautions for traveling in grizzly country.

It’s an easy drive along a gravel road to access the trailhead, where there’s a good amount of space for parking. While the trail rarely gets crowded, holidays and weekends do see a lot of foot traffic. It’s primarily uphill and in deep forest for a majority of the hike, following Upper Cedar Creek the entire way, until reaching Lower Cedar Lake and the much larger Upper Cedar Lake at just over five miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Here you will find the most backcountry campsites.

The trail is easy to follow and well-maintained, making general navigation very easy. Other trails spawn from Upper Cedar Lake, opening the option for much long backcountry travel for those prepared. Much of the hike traverses through the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, and it doesn’t take long to achieve the “getting away from society” feeling, thanks to the deep wooded surroundings.