Holland Peak: South Ridge Route

For a challenging hike that presents some of Montana's best views of the Swan Range, Mission Mountains, Bob Marshall Wilderness, and Flathead Valley, Holland Peak can't be beat. To begin this trek, take trail #192 from the parking area. It begins relatively flat and easy. After the first mile or so you will reach an unmarked junction (the only one you will pass to this point): One route continues strait, and the other sharply exiting left from the main trail. Go left on the unmapped “game trail,” though is it well trodden and easy to the follow. The trail will immediately begin climbing up a steep mountain, an unrelenting plod that will continue for about 2,000-feet of elevation. The forest will open and you will enter an old burn scar just below Lower Rumble Lake, a small and peaceful mountain lake that is excellent for fishing and backcountry camping. Most people stop the hike here and enjoy the day relaxing by the beautiful lake.

Just before reaching the lake you will cross a stream exiting the lake via an unsteady log and begin traversing around the right side of the lake about 50 meters from the shore. One can camp along the flat, lush shores of this lake, making the trip a multi-day backpacking venture. 

Near the far side of the lake the trail branches away from the lake and cuts up a talus slide. The path grows faint over the large pieces of shale, but it is still relatively easy to navigate. Ahead you will see a cascading stream that runs between Upper and Lower Rumble lakes. Use this as a landmark and ascend loose scree slide just to the right of this cascade. Be warned, it is not easy hiking! At the top of this strenuous section the trail will briefly flatten out at the south shore of Upper Rumble Lake. You will see Holland Peak ahead of you, the highest summit of an imposing, 8-mile-wide and 1,500-foot-high cliff wall spanning the north lake shore.

Immediately follow the trail right up the ridgeline, which will take you first to the south summit, then across a knife-edge ridge col of huge stone slabs before the final summit approach. It's not technical, but it's not for the faint-hearted, either. Some areas with require some use of hand-aided scrambling and sure footedness across the narrower parts. Once across, the last push consists of a steep, pathless haul up loose shale. The way ahead is clear: Just keep going up. The summit is marked with a geological survey medallion on the rocks. Stop for a while on the summit and take in the expansive views of the Swan and Mission mountains to the west and the Flathead Valley to the east. Make sure to start your descent with plenty of daylight left. It is not the kind of hike you want to do in the dark. 

If you happen to lose the faint shale trail on the way back at the far end of Lower Rumble Lake, just remember the stream you crossed that pours out of the far side of the lake. If you can follow the shore to that stream, you'll find the clearly trodden trail down the mountain from there.