Slide Rock Mountain
- 12.1 mi
- round trip
- 915 ft
- climb
- 6,657 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Jul–Sep
- best months
Is Slide Rock Mountain open right now?
Alert in the area
The Forest Service lists an alert for Lolo National Forest.
East Fork Big Creek Road & Trail Closure- Superior Ranger District
Agency alert covering Lolo National Forest · Order 26-003- · USFS · Lolo National Forest
As of · Source: USFS · Lolo National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Slide Rock Mountain is a hard hike of about 12 miles on a natural-surface trail in the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District of Lolo National Forest in western Montana. The route rises from a low point of 5,937 feet to a high point of 6,657 feet, and the climb of 915 feet is spread out over a single, out-and-back journey. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at a similar elevation run from highs near 50°F in May to about 70°F in July and August, with June and September a little cooler. That station sits a few hundred feet below the peak, so temperatures on the summit run a little cooler. The trail is open from June through October. The closest neighbor is the Vermilion-Headley hike, just 0.1 mile away. Upper Graves Creek and the Mount Headley Cutoff are both about 3 miles off. Cougar Peak Lookout, a campground, is roughly 3.4 miles from the trail.
- Vermilion-HeadleyHiking0.1 mi
- MOUNT HEADLEY CUTOFFHiking3.1 mi
- Upper Graves CreekHiking3.1 mi
- Cougar Peak LookoutCamping3.4 mi
- Vermilion RiverCanoeing6.7 mi
- Willow Creek CampgroundCamping7.2 mi
- Fishtrap Lake CgCamping8.5 mi
- Fishtrap CreekCanoeing9.6 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Ashley CreekHiking · ~19 min drivePhoto: Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA, CC BY 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- MOUNT HEADLEY CUTOFFHiking · ~5 min drive
- Cougar PeakHiking · ~6 min drive
- West Fork Canyon CreekHiking · ~19 min drive
- Vermilion-HeadleyHiking · Next door
- Upper Graves CreekHiking · ~5 min drive
- Cube Iron MountainHiking · ~7 min drive
- KOO KOO SINT RIDGEHiking · ~22 min drive
- Terrace LakeHiking · ~6 min drive
- Water HillHiking · ~8 min drive
Best time to visit Slide Rock Mountain
Best months: July–September. 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
28° / 19°
19 wet
Feb
28° / 19°
17 wet
Mar
34° / 22°
19 wet
Apr
40° / 27°
17 wet
May
50° / 36°
15 wet
Jun
58° / 42°
13 wet
Jul
70° / 52°
6 wet
Aug
69° / 51°
6 wet
Sep
59° / 44°
8 wet
Oct
44° / 32°
13 wet
Nov
32° / 23°
17 wet
Dec
27° / 18°
18 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Mullan Pass Vor/Dme, ID, 26.3 mi away at 6,028 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
