Kalispell - Reeder Bay Trail #365

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Features Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Southern trailhead:
Take ID 57 for 31 miles north from Priest River to Kalispell Bay Road. Go right onto Kalispell Bay Road for 1.8 miles where there is a Day Use Area on the right. Turn into the Day Use Area and park. The trail starts about 50 ft further up the road, on the other side of the road, at a gate. There is a trail sign just past the gate.

Northern trailhead:
Take ID 57 for 37 miles north from Priest River to Reeder Bay Road. Go right onto Reeder Bay Road for 2.4 miles to Elkins Road. Turn right onto Elkins Road and take it to where it ends at Elkins Resort and Trapper Creek Bar. The trail starts at the parking area behind Trapper Creek Bar where there is a bridge that crosses Reeder Creek onto the trail.

Kalispell - Reeder Bay Trail is a pretty forest trail with a few ups and downs. Views of Priest Lake below, and north Idaho's Selkirk Mountains are seen through the trees. A few small creeks are crossed. The trail runs along hillsides that slope down to the lake on the right/east.

Starting at the south trailhead, park your vehicle at the Kalispell Day Use Area (see Need To Know above). Cross the road to find the trail at the gated service road. There is a trail sign just beyond the gate. Entering the forest, the trail begins on a forest service road, and climbs for the first mile or so. As the trail levels off, a fork is reach. Go right here, onto singletrack trail for the rest of the hike. The trees now thin in places, revealing glimpses of Priest Lake below and the mountains in the distance. The trail then descends for about three quarters of a mile starting at the 1.7 mile mark.

Continuing on, the trail again goes up, then down, and up through the forest, to reach a well marked trail junction with Lakeview Mountain Trail #269, at the 3.4 mile mark. Go right/east here to continue on Kalispell - Reeder Bay Trail. Descending gradually, a forest service road is then reached at the 3.75 mile mark. Cross this road and watch for the trail sign on the other side, to regain the trail.

Leveling off now, the trail heads toward the lake and its sandy beaches. An Elkins Resort welcome sign is passed. The trail reaches the forest's edge, and staying in the forest at its edge, runs along the beaches, just above them. Reeder Creek is soon reached and crossed on a sturdy bridge, bringing the trail into a parking lot, where it ends at Elkins Resort and Trapper Creek Bar.

Mixed conifer forest - Western white pines, hemlocks, cedars, firs, and others. Bushes and undergrowth in places, sparse in other places. A few small grassy open areas with brush.