Colville National Forest

Washington

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region

1,029,617 acres (954,409 federal/ 75,208 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/colville

Overview

In northeast Washington, Colville National Forest is divided into two sections on either side of the Columbia River.  In the west are the Kettle River Mountains, which are crossed by Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (Highway 20).  To the east, the remote Selkirk Mountains contain the Salmo-Priest Wilderness that spills over into Kaniksu National Forest.  Colville National Forest also borders Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

Highlights

Sherman Pass Scenic Byway, Pewee Falls, Sullivan Lake, Marble Creek Falls, Trout Lake, Kettle Creek National Recreation Trail, Crowell Ridge Trail, Sherman Creek Trail, Grassy Top National Recreation Trail, Brown’s Lake Interpretive Trail, Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Must-Do Activity

In the Selkirk Mountains east of the Pend Oreille River, the large Sullivan Lake is a scenic spot for boating and camping.  Designated in 1978, the Sullivan Lake National Recreation Trail runs 4.3 miles between the two campgrounds located at either end of the lake.  Colville National Forest is also known for 200-foot-tall Pewee Falls that cascades into the Boundary Dam Reservoir near the Canadian border, but we did not make it up there.

Best Trail

Hoodoo Canyon Trail is 4.8 miles one-way and accessible from two trailheads, one on unpaved Deadman Creek Road and the other at Trout Lake Campground, which is five miles from the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway.  We started out in the rain from our dispersed campsite along Deadman Creek Road and the trail soon made a steep climb through a dense conifer forest.  Eventually the route leveled out and we got our first view of shamrock green Emerald Lake, so we took a well-worn path down to its shoreline.  The trail was officially closed at the 3.2-mile point due to a small landslide (see photo), but it was not hard to navigate past that spot to gain a view of Trout Lake, at which point we turned around.

Watchable Wildlife

The remote Selkirk Mountains represent the sole place south of Canada where there is a herd of mountain caribou.  Grizzly bears, Canadian lynx, mountain lions, and gray wolves also inhabit this wild borderland region.  More common species include mule deer, bighorn sheep, moose, beavers, bald eagles, and loons.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The water of Emerald Lake truly lives up to its gem of a name, even on a cloudy day.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (Highway 20) is paved, but most the roads we drove through Colville National Forest were unpaved but in very good condition.

Camping

Trout Lake Campground seemed like a nice spot, secluded but only five miles off the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway.  We found many excellent dispersed campsites along the unpaved portions of Deadman Creek Road.

Wilderness Areas

Salmo-Priest Wilderness (also in Kaniksu National Forest)

Related Sites

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (Washington)

Ross Lake National Recreation Area (Washington)

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Washington)

Nearest National Park

North Cascades

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, grand fir, subalpine fir, lodgepole pine, western larch, western redcedar

Flowering Tree Species

syringa, quaking aspen, Pacific dogwood, red alder, balsam poplar, dwarf birch, paper birch, Piper’s hawthorn, boxelder, Bebb willow, western mountain-ash, choke cherry, western serviceberry, red alder, mountain alder

Explore More – Who was Andrew Colvile, other than the man that Fort Colville [sic] was misnamed for in 1825?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our new guidebook Out in the Woods

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