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Hiawatha Trail. Scenic Lookout Pass. Historic Wallace, Idaho. Historic Silver mines. Great Family vacations.

Hiawatha Trail. America's greatest family bike adventure starts high-atop mountain peaks on the Montana - Idaho border. You begin by entering a mile and a half tunnel built in 1908. The Hiawatha Trail is 15 miles of unmatched mountain beauty, the route of the Olympian Hiawatha. 9 tunnels. 7 trestles. Wildlife. Wonderful views. Downhill, gentle 2% grade.
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The Hiawatha Trail is perfect for families, seniors and kids. Picnic facilities. Bathrooms. Great historical and interpretive signs along the way.

Route of the Hiawatha Trail Lookout Pass is also a primary staging area for the Route of the Hiawatha Trail, a mountain bike rail trail, which begins in Montana and runs downhill through tunnels and over trestles to the North Fork of the St. Joe River, 15 miles (24 km) away. It is named for the Olympian Hiawatha passenger trains (1947-61) of the Milwaukee Road railroad, on whose abandoned rights of way, trestles, and tunnels the gravel trail rests. One of the tunnels is over 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in length. Now completed, the Route of the Hiawatha Trail stretches from St. Regis, Montana to Pearson, Idaho, elevation 3150 feet (960 m) several miles north of Avery, (equidistantly south of Mullan). The Route of the Hiawatha Trail now includes the tunnel at St. Paul Pass, which is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in length. Bus service is available to take bicycle riders back to the start of the trail. A fee is charged for riding the trail, and during the winter months the trail is closed. Plenty of parking and unimproved camping spots are available at the trail's start, as well as at the end of the trail. Several other trails are nearby the area for further exploration; one of these follows the old road along the North Fork of the St. Joe River to Avery and has an improved campground at its start.


The Hiawatha Trail was opened for public use in the summer of 1990. It was built and is operated by Lincoln County. Funding for the trail was from county, state, and City of Tomahawk, as well as the Rails to Trails committee, fishing and snowmobile clubs. The trail follows the abandoned Milwaukee Road railroad bed and goes north from Tomahawk to the Lincoln County line near Lake Nokomis, approximately 6.6 miles. The trail will join the Bearskin State Park Trail, which comes south from Minocqua on the same rail bed. The trail was named Hiawatha in part because that was the name of the passenger train that brought visitors to the Northwoods in the 1940s and 1950s. The name also commemorates the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Song of the Hiawatha." In the poem, Nokomis was the name of Hiawatha's grandmother. The name ties together the ancient Indian history of the region and the influence of the railroads. The Hiawatha Trail is used by snowmobiles in the winter months, and is restricted to hikers and bikers the rest of the year. Except for snowmobiles, all motorized vehicular traffic and horses are prohibited to allow safe and enjoyable public use. Users are asked to stay on the trail to protect the rights of adjacent landowners.
The Route of the Hiawatha Trail is operated in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest by a concessionaire under a U.S. Forest Service Special-Use Permit. Helmets and proper lighting equipment are required for bikers, and an $9 usage fee ($6 ages 6-13) applies to everyone. Fees are collected by the concessionaires's marshalls who also provide information, emergency help, first aid and water to those in need. However, wise trail users will make sure that they are properly provisioned with food, water, extra lights, rain gear and bicycle repair kits before embarking on this adventure. Dogs are not allowed on the Route of the Hiawatha. The Hiawatha Trail concessionaire maintains a shuttle bus service between Roland and Pearson Trailheads, for which there is a $9 charge ($6 ages 6-13). The shuttle operates 7 days a week from June 13 thru September 13, with service on weekends and holidays before and after these dates. The shuttle normally runs from 11 AM to 4:15 PM, except during the peak season, June 29 thru September 7, when the hours are extended to 5:45 PM on weekends. The shuttle schedule is posted at four locations along the Route of the Hiawatha. Therefore, 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. Remember that the shuttle connects the West Portal of the Taft Tunnel, Roland, and Pearson. Therefore, riders who park at the East Portal must ride back to their vehicles from Roland.

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