Trail 192 Chipmunk Rapids

The trailhead is located at the Priest Lake Visitor Center just off Highwy 57 near mile marker 22. The visitor center offers plenty of parking and features two gazebo-style units with information about the Priest Lake area. Picnic tables and restroom facilities are also available at the trailhead. The "trail" consists of several loops that follow old logging roads through the area. The River View Loop at its southern extremity follows along the Priest River, albeit about 200 feet above the river, in the vicinity of the Chipmunk Rapids. The Kaniksu Marsh Loop follows, in part, along the Kaniksu Marsh Research Natural Area which consists of a 90-acre  region of marsh and wetland meadows. The Pine Ridge Loop offers a path that allows the hiker to take a shortcut between a portion of the Kaniksu Marsh Loop near the trailhead and the intersection of the Kaniksu Marsh Loop and the River View Loop. The Pine Ridge Loop climbs uphill and then circles around a fairly flat area that provides some scenic views. The climb is easy in the summer months, but a bit more of  a challenge once the ground is covered with snow. The Jack Pine Loop takes of from the River View Loop in the vicinity of Chipmunk Rapids. A portion of this loop offers the winter hiker a bit more exercise than the other loops as the snow along this loop seems to be deeper than that on the other loops - probably a combination of wind drift and the limited sunlight that penetrated through the high trees to ground level.

Visitor Center Area at the trailhead of the Chipmunk Rapid Trail System 2007

View from the River View Loop near its intersection with the Jack Pine Loop 2004

I hiked over portions of all the loops that comprise this trail in December 2004. There was sufficient snow on the ground to reveal the tracks of numerous deer and at least one moose. The most prominent moose tracks were on the loops located in the vicinity of Chipmunk Rapids (i.e., River View Loop and the Jack Pine Loop). I hiked the Kaniksu Marsh Loop in 2007. The snow was deep - 12 to 18 inches in places. This time I had to put on my snowshoes to make the hike.

Kaniksu Marsh View 2007

Kaniksu Marsh Loop 2007

Kaniksu Marsh Loop 2007