Lolo Trail and Lolo Pass
in Idaho
Used by the Nez Perce long before Euro-Americans came on the scene, the route over the Bitterroot Mountains, known today as the Lolo Trail, extends from Weippe Prairie to Lolo Pass along the Idaho-Montana border. Lewis & Clark followed this route on their trip across the mountains to the west coast in 1805. Looking for safety in Montana in late July of 1877, the non-treaty Nez Perce followed the same trail during the Flight of 1877.
Directions to Lolo Pass and Lolo Trail Lolo Pass along U.S. Highway 12 begins in Greer, Idaho on the west end and ends 150 miles east at the Fort Fizzle interpretive site in Montana. This is a paved, two-lane highway with speed limits 50 miles-per-hour or less with few turnouts and limited opportunities to pass.
Directions to Lolo Visitor Center: From the Spalding Visitor Center, turn right onto U.S. Highway 95 to head north. After 1 mile, use the right lane to take the ramp to Orofino/Missoula on U.S. Highway 12 East.
- States
- Idaho
- Trail type
- National Historical Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Spokane, WA · 106 mi · ~3.1 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 46.3898°, -116.1754°
About Nez Perce National Historical Park
This trail is inside Nez Perce National Historical Park, a national historical park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/lolo-trail-and-lolo-pass.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/nepe/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Lolo Trail and Lolo Pass and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.