Cabinet Mountains Wilderness
The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness is a 35-mile-long range of glaciated peaks and valleys trending north and south. The Wilderness is framed by the Kootenai River on the north, the Clark Fork River on the south, Highway 2 on the east, and the Bull River and Highway 56 on the west. Elevations range from a low of 2,880 feet to 8,738 feet atop Snowshoe Peak. Designated a Primitive Area in 1935, the 94,272 acre area then became part of the National Wilderness Preservation Act of 1964, and is defined as, "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain......"
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | Montana |
| Size | 93,272 acres |
| Designated | 1964, by Congress |
| Center point | 48.20° N, 115.69° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
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
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
None of the 4 federal campgrounds within ten miles sit inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Trails
41 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 168 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Swamp Creek ↗ | 13.2 | |
| Moran Basin ↗ | 11.1 | |
| Granite Creek ↗ | 9.9 | |
| Taylor Peak ↗ | 9.3 | |
| Wanless Lake ↗ | 9 | |
| Cabinet Divide North ↗ | 8.3 | |
| Goat Ridge ↗ | 7.1 | |
| Grambauer ↗ | 7 | |
| Dad Peak ↗ | 6.8 | |
| Flower Creek ↗ | 6 |
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.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedD7 Lazy Jack - Rx
20 mi from the center point
- PrescribedD7 Rx Timbuck Stew
31 mi from the center point
- PrescribedD7 Rx Boulder Dash
34 mi from the center point
- PrescribedRx D5 2 Short #17
44 mi from the center point · 33 acres
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
- 5.2 miTroy Jail ↗Troy, MT
- 5.4 mi
- 5.9 miLibby High School ↗Libby, MT
- 6 miCoram Hotel, The ↗Libby, MT
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.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Cabinet Mountains Wilderness?
93,272 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Cabinet Mountains Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Cabinet Mountains Wilderness in?
Montana.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Cabinet Mountains Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1964.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Cabinet Mountains Wilderness?
Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities, and the managing agency page has the permit rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Cabinet Mountains Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 48.200° N, 115.688° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Is there a fire near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness right now?
4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest D7 Lazy Jack - Rx at 20 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.
Source: Fire nearby
Are there historic places near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness?
The National Register has 4 listings within 15 miles, including Troy Jail and Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
- 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.