Kootenai National Forest · Montana

Moran Basin

11 mi of trail, end to end · native material surface · trail No. 993 · trail class 3 · typical grade 12-20% · tread 24-36 inches wide · hiking, horse, bike

Trailhead #993 Moran Basin Trailhead Drive there

#993 Moran Basin Trailhead the Forest Service's write-up

This Cabinet Mountains Wilderness trail leads to Moran Basin. The trail is mostly used by stock users and mountain bikers due to the fact that the trail follows the gated FSR 2278 for the first 9 miles then follows single track tread up to the wilderness boundary and then drops into the lake basin. Two dispersed campsites are located around the lake, and the lake is stocked with cutthroat trout.

Moran Basin Trail #993 crosses the outlet stream from Moran Lake towards the end of the trail. This crossing is easily negotiated by hikers and stock users.

Moran Basin Trail #993

Restrictions <ul><li><strong>No motorized vehicles.&nbsp;</strong></li><li><strong>Mechanized use:</strong> No mechanized use within the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.</li><li>Cabinet Mountains Wilderness has limits&nbsp;on the number of persons and stock when traveling in parties. Included is a list of all <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5413129.pdf">prohibited acts</a>. You can learn more about wilderness by visiting <a href="http://www.wilderness.net/">Wilderness.net</a></li><li>Properly possess and store all food, refuse, and other attractants pursuant to Kootenai National Forest <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd534160.pdf">Food Storage Order </a>(CFR 261.58 (cc)).</li><li>Please practice Pack-in-Pack-out and Leave-No-Trace ethics.</li></ul>

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

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About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.