Biking ''The Crown Jewel'' Route of the Hiawatha

 

A friend and fellow wanderer blogged a few weeks ago about riding ''The Crown Jewel'' of bike trails when they were in northern Idaho. This quickly grabbed Doug's attention. After some research, he happily announced that we would pass very close to this trail as we continue our way west. And even if it had been out of our way, who can pass up biking through scenery like this?

Not us! Come along as we take you on the

Route of the Hiawatha Bike Trail!

Located on the Montana-Idaho border, this 15 mile out and back trail is fairly close to Interstate 90. In fact, we got our tickets and boondocked for two nights in the parking lot of Lookout Pass Ski and Recreational area which was located on the I-90 Exit 0 just as we entered Idaho.

The Route of the Hiawatha is a 15 mile mostly downhill (about a 2% grade) ride on a former train bed that is another ''rails to trails'' beauty. This particular section starts near Taft, Montana and takes you through 10 tunnels and over 7 sky-high trestles. Most people do the downhill ride and take a shuttle bus from the end point in Pearson, Idaho back to the starting point. Trail passes are $13 and the shuttle bus return ride is an additional $12. During this time we don't get very excited about riding in a bus with lots of other people, so we didn't buy a shuttle bus ticket, as we hoped to accept the challenge of biking back up the trail. I hoped that I wouldn't regret that decision.

After picking up our trail passes at the ski office in the morning, we drove about seven miles on back roads to the trailhead. Equipped with our bike lights, we entered the first and longest tunnel that marks the start of the trail. There was definitely no ''light at the end of this tunnel'' for quite a while as it is 1.6 miles long. The squeals of delight from the young bikers that echoed off the tunnel walls added to the fun of this long, cool, damp tunnel.

After coming out of the first tunnel, I realized that this wasn't going to be an easy downhill coast. We were not biking over finely crushed gravel, but ''bump-you-around'' piles of mountain rock. I had to remember to keep pedaling even as I lost myself in the stunning scenery that surrounded us.

The spectacular scenery as we crossed the seven trestles and the cool-down rewards when entering the ten tunnels kept our legs a-moving.

The last three miles of the trail runs along a flat open creek bed. The day was already warming up, and I knew that if I biked all the way to the end, I might be tempted to buy a shuttle ticket and take the easy way back. So we fueled up on a peanut butter sandwich and granola bar, turned around, and headed back uphill at the 12 mile mark. 

Still not entirely convinced that I want
to bike back up ... especially now
that I could see where I had to climb to!

But actually, the ride back up was not bad at all ... my southeastern Minnesota biking buddies conquer gravel roads with a lot steeper grade than this. And we got double fun for our money, since we got to cross all the trestles and go through all the tunnels twice.

At the end we agreed 100% with our friend ... Yes, this is a ''crown jewel'' of a ride! So if you find yourself traveling on I-90 in northern Idaho, follow the Route of the Hiawatha, and treat yourself to a ''crown jewel'' biking and sight-seeing experience. 

Other bike trails that we recommend if you find yourself in this area:

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes - a long and scenic bike trail that follows along the Coeur d'Alene River for 73 miles

Northern Idaho Centennial Trail - a beautiful bike trail along a portion of the shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene in the city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

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