Gateway
- 11.9 mi
- round trip
- 158 ft
- climb
- 2,596 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- best months
Is Gateway open right now?
Closure in the area
There's a closure order in Kootenai National Forest. It doesn't name Gateway, so check the source for the area it covers.
Kootenai Flood Event & Inaccessible Areas
Agency closure covering Kootenai National Forest · USFS · Kootenai National Forest
Updated Skillet Fire Area, Road, Trail Closure
Agency alert covering Kootenai National Forest · Order 01-10- · USFS · Kootenai National Forest
Upper Young Creek Road #7202 Closure
Agency alert covering Rexford Ranger District · Order 01-14-01-26-01 · USFS · Rexford Ranger District
As of · Source: USFS · Kootenai National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Gateway is a Forest Service hike of about 12 miles in the Rexford Ranger District of Montana's Kootenai National Forest. The route is an out-and-back with a low point of 2,470 feet and a high of 2,596 feet, so the climb is only about 160 feet one way. The trail is marked as natural surface, and horses and bikes are both allowed. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show July and August highs around 86°F, with September easing to about 75°F and fewer wet days. Winter is cold, with January highs near 32°F and lows around 19°F. The trip runs from June 1 to October 31, and the trailhead is at Gateway TH 551 on Road 7160. Swisher Lake Campground sits about 1.3 miles away, and the Swisher Lake hike is 1.6 miles off. Phillips Creek offers canoeing about 2 miles away, and Kamloops Terrace campground is roughly 6 miles out.
Local outfitters
- Indian Springs Montana6 mi away
- Kootenai River Campground49 mi away
Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.
- Swisher Lake CampgroundCamping1.3 mi
- Swisher LakeHiking1.6 mi
- Phillips CreekCanoeing2.1 mi
- Kamloops TerraceCamping6 mi
- Rexford NatureHiking6.3 mi
- Tobacco River CampgroundCamping6.4 mi
- Tobacco AreaLake fishing6.5 mi
- ClingbackHiking7 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Lower BoulderHiking · ~21 min drivePhoto: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)- Swisher LakeHiking · ~3 min drive
- ClingbackHiking · ~12 min drive
- BluebirdHiking · ~18 min drive
- Rexford NatureHiking · ~11 min drive
- Sinclair CreekHiking · ~18 min drive
- Wolverine LakesHiking · ~18 min drive
- Pacific Northwest TrailHiking · ~13 min drive
- Clarence NessHiking · ~19 min drive
- Geneva LakeHiking · ~20 min drive
Best time to visit Gateway
Best months: April–June and September–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
32° / 19°
10 wet
Feb
39° / 21°
8 wet
Mar
49° / 28°
9 wet
Apr
60° / 34°
8 wet
May
70° / 42°
10 wet
Jun
77° / 49°
10 wet
Jul
86° / 53°
7 wet
Aug
86° / 51°
5 wet
Sep
75° / 44°
6 wet
Oct
57° / 35°
8 wet
Nov
41° / 27°
9 wet
Dec
31° / 21°
10 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Eureka Rs, MT, 6.8 mi away at 2,532 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
