Idaho trails · Cottonwood Butte
Cottonwood Butte
A 25.9-mile point-to-point in Idaho, with 6,165 ft of climbing. Reaches Twin Lakes and other lake/spring/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 56% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 8.6. It gives back about 4,787 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Twin Lakes (lake)
- Coyote Spring (spring)
- Farrow Mountain (summit)
- Basin Lake (lake)
- Cottonwood Butte (summit)
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:28 a.m., the sun rises at 6:58 a.m. and sets at 8:18 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:49 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 25.9-mile route takes roughly 12 h 40 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 7:38 p.m. — 40 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Mount Harrington — 14.7 mi
- Square Top-West Horse — 15.7 mi
- Garden Creek - Horse Heaven — 17.6 mi
- Waterfall — 20.1 mi