Shedroof Divide Trail #512

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Access:
Best access to Shedroof Divide Trail is from the Washington side. Take (Washington State Highway) WA 20 north, continue on WA 31 to just before Ione, and turn right onto Sullivan Lake Road for 12.8 miles. Just pass the north end of Sullivan Lake, turn right onto Sullivan Creek Rd./Forest Service Road FSR 22. After 6 miles on FSR 22, turn right to continue on for another 7.7 miles where the road has a usable parallel parking on the right/south. After parking here, walk down/east on the road for about a quarter of a mile, looking closely on the left/north for the trail that ramps up the steep hillside. There is no sign for the trail until a short walk in.

Access from the Idaho side is possible, but be prepared for a very narrow, bushy, bumpy climb for the last 7 miles...

Water:
This is a dry high ridge trail. Any water on this trail is from snow melt, and is dried up before mid July.

Dogs:
If your dog is restrained, it is allowed off leash.

VIEWS!

Shedroof Divide Trail begins in forest, with a serious climb to gain the ridge top of the Shedroof Divide. Breaking out of the forest, into grassy meadows with an abundance of summer wildflowers, the trail skirts around the east side of Round Top Mountain's summit. From here, it then passes two more summits - Mankato Mountain and Helmer Mountain. Between the summits, the trail drops a bit and goes through some forest, before returning to open, grassy terrain near the summits.

After passing Helmer Mountain, the trail descends quite a ways down to arrive at a couple trails around the 6.8 mile mark, Here, in thin forest. Jackson Creek Trail is passed on the right/east. On the left/west is Thunder Creek Trail. Both of these trails are access trails to Shedroof Divide Trail.

Continuing on in thin, high country forest, the trail climbs as it nears Thunder Mountain. Closing in on Thunder Mountain's summit, the trail descends slightly as it circles around the summit's east side. Then around the 10.5 mile mark, the trail begins descending Thunder Mountain's north slopes. After two miles, the trail levels out, then goes up another minor high spot, down again, to reach two more access trails - Hughes Fork Trail on the right/east, and Shedroof Cutoff Trail on the left/west, at around the 13.4 mile mark.

Next is Shedroof Mountain. Shedroof Divide Trail now climbs steeply for the next 1.5 miles, starting on switchbacks and then heading directly to Shedroof Mountain's summit. Close to the summit, the trail veers west slightly, circles around the summit, and then starts to descend the north slopes of Shedroof Mountain. This descent is soon interrupted upon reaching a trail junction with Salmo Divide Trail.

Salmo Divide Trail is another Shedroof Divide access trail from the west. There is also a dry trail camp at this trail junction. Follow the trail signs and stay to the right to continue on Shedroof Divide Trail.

Leaving the trail junction behind, the trail descends another two miles not exactly on Shedroof Mountain, but on other nearby high points and ridges. At the bottom of this descent there may be water in mid July, and also nearby at the beginning of the next climb. The next climb brings one to just below Little Snowy Top Peak. Here, there's a side trail on the left/west, up to the old Little Snowy Top Lookout.

Another mile after this side trail, Snowy Top Pass is reached. Here, Shedroof Divide Trail ends as it meets Salmo Basin Trail.

Grassy areas with an abundance of early summer wildflowers - paintbrush, lupines, asters, bear grass, tiger lilies, yellow columbine, and others. Pretty mixed conifer forest with lush undergrowth, thin enough in many places to see the mountains through the trees. Deer are around. Bears live here.

Contacts
Land Managers:
USFS - Colville National Forest Office
USFS - Idaho Panhandle National Forest Office