Kootenai River and Falls

One of the most beautiful sites traveling through Montana was the Kootenai River Valley. The view of the mountains, the river and falls, made this a must see location.





Kootenai Falls on the Kootenai River, adjacent to U.S. Highway 2 between Libby and Troy, is a scenic attraction not to be missed. The calm river suddenly gathers momentum surging first through China Rapids and then over Kootenai Falls, dropping 90 feet in less than a mile. The main falls is 30 feet high and can be viewed from a "swinging bridge" that crosses the river. During the Depression, CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) crews did a lot of work in the area constructing roads and bridges, including the first swinging bridge, across the Kootenai River.
The falls area is a sacred site to the Kootenai Indians who once called this area home. This was a place where tribal members communed with spiritual forces. In the early 1800s, David Thompson, a Canadian explorer and employee of the Northwest Company, travelled into the Kootenai river area and used the Kootenai River as a navigational guide through the area following Native American Indian and game trails. He portaged around the falls, following cairns — piles of rocks marking the trail — built by the Kootenai Indians.







The trail goes over a special enclosed pedestrian bridge over double railroad tracks, then winds down to the Swinging Bridge which overlooks the falls.