Thunder Mountain
- 6.2 mi
- round trip
- 126 ft
- climb
- 8,582 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
Is Thunder Mountain open right now?
Alert in the area
The Forest Service lists 4 alerts for Bitterroot National Forest.
Pile burning on West Fork Ranger and Darby-Sula Districts Nov. 3
Agency alert covering Bitterroot National Forest · USFS · Bitterroot National Forest
Pile burning on West Fork Ranger District end of October
Agency alert covering West Fork Ranger District · USFS · West Fork Ranger District
Pile burning on West Fork Ranger District Oct. 26
Agency alert covering West Fork Ranger District · USFS · West Fork Ranger District
Two Prescribed Burns Planned for the week of Oct. 5 - Piquett Creek & Cameron Gap
Agency alert covering Bitterroot National Forest · USFS · Bitterroot National Forest
As of · Source: USFS · Bitterroot National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Thunder Mountain is an easy out-and-back hike of about 6 miles on natural-surface trails in the West Fork Ranger District of Montana's Bitterroot National Forest. The climb gains about 130 feet, with the route running from a low point of roughly 7,260 feet to a high of about 8,580 feet. The Forest Service manages the land. The hike is short and low-impact, so it works well as a day trip or a break between longer outings in the area. The trail's natural surface makes it simple to follow without much in the way of infrastructure to plan around. Several other hikes start close by. Salt Johnson Creek is about 1.3 miles away, Salt Creek is about 2.2 miles away and Chrandall Creek is about 3 miles away. For an overnight stay, Alta Campground is about 6 miles from the trail.
Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive
HIKE
SALT CREEK
~4 min drive
1.86-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 884 ft elevation gain
HIKE
Chrandall Creek
~5 min drive
6.54-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 1,250 ft gain.
HIKE
SHEEP CREEK
~6 min drive
1.26-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 934 ft elevation gain
HIKE
SALT CREEK
~5 min drive
1.9-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 1,219 ft elevation gain and loss.
HIKE
Salt Creek
~6 min drive
10.86-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 116 ft of elevation gain.
HIKE
Head of West Fork
~7 min drive
1.36-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 204 ft of elevation gain.
HIKE
Bare and Tincan Springs
~8 min drive
3.56-mile out-and-back trail to Bare and Tincan Springs in Idaho, gaining 234 feet.
HIKE
NORTHSIDE HUGHES CREEK
~8 min drive
3.76-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 3,047 ft elevation gain and loss.
HIKE
Grizzly Spring
~11 min drive
9.10-mile out-and-back trail at Grizzly Spring in Idaho, 71 ft elevation gain.
HIKE
HUGHES CREEK
~8 min drive
1.58-mile out-and-back trail in Montana with 1,284 ft elevation gain and loss.
Route details
- Distance
- 6.2 mi round trip
- Climbing
- About 126 ft
- Summit
- 7,698 ft
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- About 2 hours
Questions about this route
How long is the Thunder Mountain on Thunder Mountain?
About 6.2 mi round trip.
How much elevation gain is on the Thunder Mountain?
About 126 ft of climbing round trip.
How hard is the Thunder Mountain?
It is rated easy.
How long does the Thunder Mountain take?
About 2 hours round trip.
Conditions and forecast on Thunder Mountain
Daily highs and lows, wind and the chance of precipitation at the summit and route start for the next 7 days, from the Open-Meteo model.
