Strawberry Mountain #355, ID

Overview: Straightforward hike to the summit of Strawberry Mountain in the western Cabinet Mountains of northern Idaho.


Hike: The trail starts on the east side of FR280 and is marked by a brown trail sign and '355' nailed to a tree. The path immediately leads into the dense forest as the trail drops down towards Grouse Creek. At the creek, there is another 355 sign nailed to a tree, turn right, and follow the trail along the north bank of the creek about a hundred feet, then follow the trail to the creek crossing. Grouse Creek may be unsafe to cross during spring snowmelt, but you should be able to rock-hop across later in the summer and autumn.Once across the creek, the trail follows an old logging road, generally heading east for the next two miles, steadily, but gradually, gaining elevation. The hiking is easy, and the walk through the forest is pleasant, but nothing too exciting.

At about 2.50 miles, the trail drops slightly to a small stream, then parallels it for a short distance. The vegetation in the summer becomes more varied around the stream and as you continue uphill. Once past the stream, the trail steepens considerably, and what was previously an easy hike becomes much more strenuous. The trail also switches from the old road to a single-track but is still easy to follow.

At about 4 miles, the trees give way to mostly open views, and the trail becomes a rocky uphill track for the next half mile to the summit. The views make up for the effort, and as you come around the north side of a false summit, the true summit of Strawberry Mountain finally comes into view to the east. The final quarter mile to the summit is rocky and vague in places, but the summit is obvious as you head towards it. As you wind through the rocks, you'll notice the wood remains of an old lookout tower and the high point just above the pile of wood. The entire summit of Strawberry Mountain is fun to explore and fairly large, with excellent views in all directions on a clear day. Supposedly, there is a rock formation up there that looks like a strawberry, hence the name, but I was unable to spot anything matching this description. Regardless, this is a nice hike, and the surrounding mountains beckon for more exploration.

2022-09-13 LindaAnn