Square Mountain

Taste Wilderness

Lakes and Magnificent Scenery … that you can drive to.

Play Hard

overview

The two-hour trip covers a good gravel road, but is best suited to four-wheel drive vehicles because of the washboards and steepness in some sections. Travel here is best suited to start in late spring or early summer due to snow drifts, many of which still partially cover the road in places. It isn’t hard to understand why travel to the Gospels is limited to mid-July through late September. Winter arrives early and stays late in this country.

go there:

To reach Square Mountain, follow the Grangeville-Salmon Road 221, which leaves State Highway 13 across from the Forest Service east of Grangeville. Follow the road past Fish Creek and continue left at “Four Corners,” Watch for signs and turn left onto the 444 Road, which is gravel.

After about six miles you will come to a saddle with a wide turnoff to view Upper Gospel Lake lying at the base of Gospel Hill. This is a spectacular view, both of the lake and of the mountains on the other side of the saddle.

Moore Guard Station is about six miles further, where you’ll find a camping area, rest rooms, corral and a small cabin. Moore Station was named for Charley Moore, who was a freighter and owner of the way station at the site that served miners and other travelers into the Buffalo Hump region until about 1905.

Another few miles will take you to the rest area and trailhead below Square Mountain. Continue around the rest area and drive on up to the lookout.

Square Mountain is a “Nez Perce L-5” log cabin lookout. L-5 stands for “lookout model 5.” There were only a few of the 10-foot-by-10-foot buildings built, and Square Mountain is one of the best remaining, thanks to preservation efforts Built in 1931, the Square Mountain lookout was in service until the 1970s.

A trail takes off near the parking area and runs along the ridge of the mountain. Take it! Walking along the ridge is awe-inspiring. You are at 8,000 feet, with mountains and peaks rolling away from you in deepening shades of blue.

The short trail leads to a view of Square Mountain Lake far below.