I road the Route of the Hiawatha ("Hiawatha") in mid-August, 2011. On a sunny Saturday it was a fairly heavily used trail - especially considering the relative remoteness. As noted on the TrailLink.com site, the principal trailhead is in Montana. There is a large parking area with facilities.

As other reviewers have noted, the trail is compact gravel (portions of the trail follow a forest service road). On a mountain bike it's an easy surface to navigate. Note that helmets and lights (see below) are required.

Almost immediately after leaving the main parking lot (east end of the trail, off I-90, exit 5), the trail passes through the Taft Tunnel that is 8,177 feet in length (1.66 miles). A headlight or headlamp is essential for travel through the tunnel. A couple of the guys I was with rented bikes from Lookout Pass Ski Area (http://www.skilookout.com) that came with headlights - we found these serviceable, but a bit dim. We'd all brought LED headlamps and these worked well. The other essential item for traveling through the tunnel is warm clothing. On our ride it was in the mid-70s outside, and probably low-50s in the tunnel.

Upon exiting the tunnel, the trail has a gentle (but noticeable) 1.7% grade for the next 13 miles (total elevation change of about 1,000 feet). The trail passes through several other shorter tunnels and crosses a number of trestles. There are stunning views along much of the route. There is also interpretive signage covering the history of the area, and the construction and operation of the railroad. A shuttle bus is available to return you and your bike to the trailhead parking area. Surprisingly, most people took the shuttle. We rode back. A couple of us took the forest service road (FS 506) that goes over the mountain through which the Taft Tunnel passes. FS 506 ascends steeply over 1,000 feet from the Hiawatha trail to the summit near the Idaho-Montana border, and then descends equally steeply to the trailhead parking area. Only recommended for strong legs and good brakes.

We rode this trail in September 2010. Somehow I had the idea it was paved. It is gravel so it was sort of bumpy going down on our hybrids. But, we did fine. Coming back up was easier since we did not have to control our speed on the gravel. This is a beautiful trail. The scenery is awesome. Lots of great interpretive signs to read and sights to take in. Take your time. When they say bring a headlight for the tunnels--they mean it! It is dark and cold in there. What a great adventure. A different kind of bike trail. A must do ride.

TOOLBEAR ON THE ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA

What a fun ride! Put this on your Must Do list.

T.B.’s RATINGS – 1-5*s

3* Trail surface: hard packed gravel road with loose surface rock averaging about .75” diameter. In short, average well-maintained forest road. Not for high pressure roadie tires. Fat tires do fine. Try 55#.

4* Facilities: Vault toilets at the trail heads at both ends of the St. Paul tunnel, at Adair at the Big Loop half way down, and at the bottom trail head. These are done in an attractive 19th Century Depot style. The same style is used for the information kiosks. Did not see any water points.

5* Scenery: Tunnels, trestles, mountains. It’s a great place for pictures. Check out the videos and decide for yourself.

6* Interpretive signs: They have excellent interpretive signs the whole length of the trail covering the history of the rail road and the area. These are very well done and quite educational. I was two hours on the trail and two and a half hours stopped, reading signs and taking pix. Allow enough time to browse.

http://www.skilookout.com/hiawatha/trailinfo.php

Finally! A trail where I could get a shuttle uphill for a change. This was the cherry on top of a week riding the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

The trail pass is $9, and so is the shuttle bus ticket. Money well spent. You can get them at the Lookout Pass ski area or drive up to the trail head, go through the tunnel and get them from a trail ranger (they will find you). This is a comfy downhill trail through some very interesting scenery. They have one of the largest concentrations of RR tunnels and trestles in the West. Plus, they have done an excellent job on the interpretive signs which run the length of the trail. I took more time reading the signs and taking pix than pedaling downhill.

TUNNELS…

Have enough light.

I learned this in June on the Bizz Johnson. My Planet Bike front light just gave me vertigo. That sent me to the lights section on Bike Forum to read the mail. I bought a Coast LED lenser from Lowes. It’s bright and it can focus. The word on the forum was that you can buy a really bright flashlight and work out the clamp, giving you a dual purpose tool. They were right. I looked for something claiming more watts and lumens than the others. This is getting better each month.

It worked just fine on the 1.66 mile St. Paul tunnel – and all the others were anticlimatic. (Just remember that you do the SP twice.) I could adjust the focus to show what I wanted to see and the beam illuminated the tunnel very well. Riding the tunnel was a snap. It was hose-clamped to the Planet Bike clamp. Other folks that day had used tape, zip ties, etc. Just in case … I had a bright head light on the helmet – velcroed through the vent holes. Of course, there was a full set of spare batteries in the gear. Not needed.

Another thing you might like: fenders.

The St. Paul tunnel is long, dark, cold and wet. There are culverts on both sides running a lot of water. These are marked with yellow reflectors. Avoid them. Even so, there are drips and dribbles from the roof and wet spots. It is cold in there and I was the second one thru that day.

I had a GoreTex jacket over a fleece vest and kept thinking I should stop and zip it all up a lot more. Just kept on, however. With a full set of removable fenders, I had mud down below on the bike. Those with the manly mountain bike look (“Fenders are for sissies, dude!”) had the manly mountain bike mud stripes all the way up their backs. One guy, on getting back out, was seen washing his jersey in the brook. One note on rug rats in trailers – they are in the mud slipstream in the SP tunnel. They might not like that too much.

FINDING A TRAIL RANGER…

I watched them arrive for the day and set up. It appears that one is topside at the Roland trailhead to handle the shuttle bus unloading and such. Another is down at the bottom doing likewise and the third is going up and down the trail, checking tickets, etc. Ride on; they will find you.

ENJOY THE RIDE…

I sure did. This would be great with kids. Boys would love to see how they built and ran the road. What lad, regardless of age, could fail to be interested in the gigantic cantilever crane (30 tons of rails for ballast) that inched out as they built the trestles, lowering girders?

While I was down below, reading every sign, twice, Dear Wife at the trail head was having a Schadenfreude Moment. One, then two, then three school buses arrived and belched forth kids of assorted ages. (“All headed for ToolBear. Yes!)

First I knew about the “special groups” was when three of the more aggressive boys (well ahead of the pack) came whizzing out of a tunnel like wasps out of a drain pipe. They screeched to a stop to announce that I might want to get a move on (flee) as dozens if not hundreds of kids were behind them, all headed this way. (Vision: Mongol Horde.) Then they admired the Gutterbunny, proclaimed it a “cool bike” and went pounding off downhill.

Too many signs to read to flee. Successive swarms overtook me, all riding Hell-bent for Election. There must have been a prize for first down in class. But, but. Don’t you want to learn about the 1910 fire that burned 3,000,000 acres of forest and 89 people? About the silk trains? About the copper mine up that canyon? About the train signals? About… oh, never mind.

I had a fear that the shuttles would be backed up for hours, but not to worry. The operators had it well in hand with extra busses and moved the crowds uphill swiftly to off load at Roland. I had lunch at the bottom, then boarded a shuttle.

My, you can see a long way down when sitting on the outboard side. My, that road seems narrow. Glad it’s not raining. Glad I came. Do it again? Sure.

Ride on.

ToolBear