Kootenai Falls is located on US Hwy 2 between Troy and Libby in the state of Montana. There is a decent amount of traffic, with overflow available just east of the main parking. During summer, there is a small concession stand available, at which food, snacks, and souvenirs can be acquired. There are a couple of vault toilets, as well as many picnic tables to sit at and enjoy a break. The day use area is very shady and well maintained. The upper area is handicap accessible, but the trails down to the bridge or falls is not very handicap friendly.

The falls and the bridge have to be accessed via separate trails. If you go to the right at the signpost, you will find your way to the falls. The trail is well defined, but is peppered with rock outcroppings that will try to trip you up if you are not careful. You can get to the water if you are willing to do a little rock climbing. There are a few calm pools just below the falls, but there is a lot of rapids and undertows and quite a few people have died in the river. I have personally never gone into the water and will probably never do so. The flow over the falls has been pretty decent all year this year, but winter seems to be the mellowest flow from my experience.

Going to the left at the signpost leads to the swinging bridge. This is not the original bridge, which was destroyed in a flood in 1948. Walking across the bridge is a little bit of a bouncy experience, but there is not a lot of sway. The view is decent from the bridge, but as it is fairly busy, I suggest you keep your pauses to a minimum in order to not interfere with other peoples’ passage across the chasm. The bridge is barely wide enough for two people to cross if both people crowd against the railing, so people usually take turns going across. There are quite a few trails on the other side of the bridge, one of which leads down to a beach from which people sometimes fish. Again, I would probably advise against swimming in the water.

This area is becoming much more popular than it use to be, so I try to visit it late in the evenings, particularly in winter. This also provides me with better lighting for pictures. I think it is very much worthwhile to hike both trails and visit the falls and the bridge. If heights are not your thing, then you will probably not appreciate the swinging bridge or the bridge over the rail road tracks that is a part of the initial trail. So long as you are not acrophobic, you can enjoy the area quite a lot, possibly spending a whole day across the river wandering around the trails and checking out the views. The geology of the area is also quite interesting and I enjoy looking at the rock formations while I am there.

For official information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/kootenai/specialplaces/?cid=FSEPRD1008852

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