Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2023

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Coolin Mountain sits on a high, forested ridge just south of Coolin and Priest Lake. I discovered a climber’s trail that makes the summit an easy endeavor. Read on. USGS Coolin

Access

From ID-57 southwest of Priest Lake, turn right/east onto paved Dickensheet Road (signed for “Coolin”). Drive 4.2 miles to an unsigned road junction. Turn left onto a dirt road that heads northwest for 2.0 miles. The road bends hard left/south and goes another mile to reach a saddle and 4-way road junction. This is the connecting saddle between Peak 3580 and Coolin Mountain (3,475 feet). The saddle is at 2,950 feet and 48⁰27’48”N, 116⁰52’18”W). This climb is entirely within the confines of the Priest Lake State Forest.

West Face/Northwest Ridge, Class 1

The Climb

From the 2,950-foot connecting saddle, follow a decent 2-track road (not shown on the National Forest) southeast up the west face of Coolin Mountain. The road bends hard left/north at about 3,040 feet. The road ends at a ridge corner (and old campsite). From here, follow a continuation of the road (it is now an ATV/hiking trail but then turns back into a road) right/east and skirts the north face of Coolin Mountain then bends hard right/south near Point 3297.

Continue south on the road until it begins to descend. Leave the road after it has dropped 5 vertical feet and find a use trail that heads right/southwest from the road up onto the nearby, thickly-forested northwest ridge. Hike up the decent use trail as it follows the crest of the forested northwest ridge to the semi-open summit. The summit had a torn-down cairn so I rebuilt it on the high point. The ridge trail offers some amazing views of nearby Priest Lake.