Plowboy Mountain Trail #295

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Plowboy Mountain Trail is found on FSR 1341. To get here from Priest River, take ID 57 for 36 miles north to Nordman. Go right onto Reeder Bay Road for 12 miles towards Beaver Creek Campground, Continue past the campground onto unpaved FSR 1341 for 2.4 miles. The trail is found on the right, marked by a small trailhead sign. There is room to park 2-3 vehicles at the trailhead.

Plowboy Mountain Trail is a forest trail. It goes to the top of Plowboy Mountain and then back down the other side. Views are limited, but great.

The trail starts out in beautiful cedar forest with other conifers mixed in. The tall, stately cedars block the sunlight from getting through so there is very little undergrowth, but a lot of deadfall (not on the trail though) from the generations of trees that have died off. Climbing steadily on the south side of Plowboy Mountain for the first 2.8 miles, 1,900 feet of elevation is gained as the forest changes. The trees gradually thin and there are less cedars. The sun gets through and bushy undergrowth takes over. Mountains and Priest Lake can be seen through the trees. Additionally, there are a few open spots that provide nice views of Priest Lake and the Selkirk Crest to the east, and the Shedroof Divide to the west.

After about 2.5 miles, the rounded Plowboy Mountain summit area is reached. There is a mix of open grassy areas and thin forest here. At the 2.8 mile mark, there is an open grassy area. This is the summit, with the stone ruins of an old lookout just off the trail to the left/west. The forested ridge to the west is the Shedroof Divide. To the east, trees block the views.

Leaving the summit, the trail immediately returns to the forest on the north side of Plowboy Mountain. Remaining in the forest for its entire descent of about 2,400 feet over 3.1 miles, there are limited but good views to the northeast - Upper Priest Lake, and the Selkirk Mountains. As one descends, less sunlight reaches the forest floor, the undergrowth disappears and cedars dominate again. Plowboy Mountain Trail ends in the forest at Navigation trail camp on Navigation Trail #291.

Forest. At low elevations the forest is full of cedars and other conifers with little undergrowth due to its high, dense canopy. As the elevation increases, the trees gradually thin, more sunlight gets through the canopy, and undergrowth flourishes. Around the summit, the sparser trees are smaller, and grasses and bushes takeover.