Beehive Lakes
The Beehive Lakes offer rewarding views of the Selkirk Mountains, hungry cutthroat trout and a chance for experienced hikers to scramble to the crest.
- Location: Selkirk Mountains
- Status: Proposed Wilderness
- Distance: 9 miles round trip
- Elevation: 2,040 ft
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Maps: ICL Guide to the Selkirks; Kaniksu National Forest; USGS The Wigwams and Roman Nose; or Google Maps
- More information: 100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest
Nestled high in the Selkirk Crest, the Beehive Lakes offer rewarding views, serenity and backcountry fishing. Beehive Lakes Trail 279 starts right next to the picturesque Pack River. The Forest Service just reconstructed the trailhead, including a new footbridge across the river, with stimulus money. The project employed a local contractor, reduces the erosion to trout habitat in the river and improves the recreational experience.
After crossing the new bridge, the trail climbs up through mountainside meadows, among the beargrass and across slabs of smooth granite. The meadows offer fantastic views of the Pack River drainage and Roman Nose Peak across the way. Cairns mark the way across the slabs.
The largest and uppermost lake sits perched on a bench in a cirque basin just below Selkirk Crest. I found a woodland caribou drinking water here in 2000. The other lakes require going off-trail. Although bushwhacking is required, the trip to Little Harrison Lake over the shoulder to the north is well worth the effort. More experienced hikers and mountaineers can scramble to the crest or make a loop trip to Harrison Lake and Trail 217.
Directions
From Highway 95 north of Sandpoint, turn left (west) onto the Pack River Road by the gas station. Drive about 19 miles up Pack River Road and look for the sign to the Beehive Lakes Trailhead. Four-wheel drive vehicles are highly recommended.
