Mission Falls Trail

Cultural & visitor copy in review with CSKT contributors. The practical details below (location, permit, authority) are verified; the fuller story waits until it can be written with CSKT contributors.

Mission Falls Trail leads from a trailhead east of St. Ignatius into the lower Mission Mountains, terminating at Mission Falls. The trail is on CSKT-administered land. A CSKT Conservation License is required for entry, and rules and access points have changed over the years.

Always check current CSKT Natural Resources Department rules and the current trail status before going. Permits are sold at several locations in the valley including the CSKT Natural Resources office and selected retailers; details are on the CSKT website.

People camp up here too. There is primitive tribal camping at Mission Reservoir near the trailhead, and staying overnight on tribal land takes a Flathead Reservation Camping License on top of the Conservation License, sold by the same vendors. The sites are primitive, so come self-sufficient. Check current camping rules with CSKT Natural Resources before you plan a night out.

One boundary matters here: the falls and the upper trail are inside the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness, while the reservoir and dam below sit outside it, and the two zones carry different regulations. The current Non-Member Regulations from CSKT Natural Resources cover both.

Two rules specific to this drainage: Mission Creek from the reservoir up to the falls is closed to fishing year-round. And once you cross into the wilderness, the rules tighten – groups of eight or fewer, no bikes or motors, no firearms, no berry or mushroom picking, camps moved every three days.