Head north from the city of Spokane, through the northeastern fringes of Washington state, towards the Canadian border, and you’ll soon be faced with one pretty hefty expanse of wilderness: the Colville National Forest. Sprawling across 1.5 million acres, it’s a land of wild river valleys and glacier-carved peaks that’ll tempt any lover of the great outdoors to pull over and get adventuring — there’s oodles of hiking trails, an abundance of campgrounds, mountain-biking routes, and plenty more awaiting within!
Mountains are probably the most defining feature of the region. According to the official Forest Service website, not one, not two, but three separate ranges of peaks carve and cut their way through Colville, unfolding in a medley of forest-clad foothills and higher summits that eventually top out at over 7,300 feet above sea level. The Sherman Pass Scenic Byway wiggles its way amid all that to provide sublime views across the highlands, while everything from grueling summit attempts to short lake loop trails means access for walkers should be a cinch.
The Colville National Forest is fragmented across a big dash of northeastern Washington, though its two main sections are roughly split by the courses of the Columbia River and, conveniently, U.S. 395, which runs north from the town of Colville itself. Meanwhile, U.S. 20 snakes its way east to west through the forest. That all places the forest neatly between Canada, which butts right up to the boundaries of the forest in the north, and the river city of Spokane, which has an international airport — the Spokane International Airport (GEG) — about 1.5 hours’ drive to the south.
Hiking with stunning views on the side in the Colville National Forest
There are hikes galore within the Colville National Forest. In fact, according to National Forests, this forest has something in the region of 180 miles of maintained trails for hikers, bikers, horseback riders, and even skiers. There’s even a route that circles one of the highest mountains in Colville, Sherman Peak, looping from a trailhead on U.S. 20 around ridges of pine forest where wildflowers bloom in summer…