Pulaski Tunnel Trail

This North Idaho interpretive trail is easily accessible from I-90 and is not-to-be missed for its rich history of the 1910 fires.

WTA's volunteer trail workers are well versed in the use of the Pulaski as an all-around best grubbing tool for a variety of trail projects. They may even be aware of the man who designed the tool, Ed Pulaski, a forest service employee and firefighter based out of the mining town of Wallace. North Idaho's Pulaski Trail delves into the history of the man, the tool he designed, and the 1910 wildfires that still leave their mark on North Idaho.

This is an interpretive trail, so plan to spend as much time reading the trailside signs as hiking on this four mile round-trip hike along a creek. At trails-end is the tunnel and commemorative markers indicating where Ed Pulaski saved all but six of the 45 firefighters under his command by holding them at gunpoint in a mine tunnel. His armed insistence on their remaining inside the tunnel saved them from smoke inhalation and the high temperatures outside their shelter. Due the significance of the events that happened here in August 1910, both the trail and the tunnel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Teachers and scout leaders, be sure to check out the educational materials provided by the Forest Service.

The first 725 feet of this trail is barrier-free.