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 acresUSFSMTID30 campgrounds within 10 mi118 Forest Service sites517 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4 fires
active
D7 Rx Timbuck Stew (prescribed burn) · 29 mi from the center
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesMontana, Idaho
Size2.6 million acres
Forest Service code0114, region 01
Center point48.43° N, 115.48° W
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 →

19 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 11 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
USACE · Inside
Blackwell Flats Campground
Reservable7 sites
FS · Inside
Bull River Campground and Group Site
Reservable26 sites
FS · Inside
Camp 32
First-come8 sites
FS · Inside
Dorr Skeels Campground
Reservable10 sites
USACE · Inside
Dunn Creek Campground
Reservable13 sites
FS · Inside
Horse Camp
First-come2 sites
Show 4 more

18 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, 1,873 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. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 517 trails in Kootenai National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    D7 Rx Timbuck Stew

    29 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    D7 Rx Boulder Dash

    31 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Tl Blessed Be Landing Piles Rx

    35 mi from the center point

  • Prescribed
    Tl Tiny Timber Landing Piles Rx

    38 mi from the center point

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

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.

Guidebooks for Montana

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • 100 Classic Hikes: Montana
    Douglas Lorain, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Day Hiking Glacier National Park and Western Montana
    Aaron Theisen, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking waterfalls in Montana
    John Kratz, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Montana: Bozeman
    Bill Schneider, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks
    Erik Molvar, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

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?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Kootenai National Forest?

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

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Kootenai National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest D7 Rx Timbuck Stew at 29 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Kootenai National Forest?

The National Register has 43 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 and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • 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.