Getting There: From Superior, take Cedar Creek Road #320 and head toward Missoula Lake and Cascade Pass, 25 miles; stay on the main road as there are several other roads that connect. After coming off Miller Saddle, (about 20 mi) there will be an intersection at the bottom of the drainage. Stay straight crossing Oregon Creek. The right fork at this intersection (road #7763) heads down the hill to the Big Flat; the left fork will take you up to the Oregon Lakes trailhead (1/2 mi).
Starting at Cascade Pass (Missoula Lake saddle) take state line trail #738 North towards the Bonanza Lakes. The state line trail is just across the road from the Cascade Pass sign. The 4-wheeler tract that heads straight up the hill is not it. Head north on this easy and mostly level trail for about 1.5 miles to a low saddle. There, trail (#616) heads down into the head of Cataract Gulch and over to the Bonanza Lakes. Continue straight on trail #738. The trail continues mostly uphill for another 1.25 miles passing several overlooks to both Bonanza Lakes.
The trail then turns downhill for an additional 0.6 miles to the intersection with the un-numbered trail from Lost Peak. The Lost Peak trail is blocked and there is a blaze on a tree at the intersection. You can see the ridge/saddle straight ahead. Leave the trail and angle over to the saddle on the ridge.
Follow the assorted game trails on or near the ridge until you reach the series of rockslides just off the ridge crest. There is a good visible trail just on the far side of the rockslides that will take you directly to the summit. The ridgeline is also an option but is rougher than Google Earth shows. I have used the trail. The last bit on the trail to the summit is very steep but short. There are no water sources between Cascade Pass and the summit.
Getting There: Take the Dry Creek Road exit off I-90, about 5 miles West of Superior. Cross the railroad tracks on the Southside Highway (#69); after about 3/4 mile, hang a right on Dry Creek Road #342. Continue up Dry Creek Road #342 staying right at the fork to Diamond and Cliff Lakes to the Idaho / Montana state line, a total of about 18 miles.
From there head south on the state line trail #738, the trail takes off sharply to the left just as you reach the state line. There is a year-round water source about 1/3 mile back down the road in the ditch if needed. The trail varies between climbing and some descents, but it mostly climbs to over 7,400 feet near Eagle Cliff Peak (2.65 mi). Along the way there are several great overlooks of Cliff and Diamond Lakes. It is a short walk back up the ridge to the summit of Eagle Cliff Peak and its vistas.
From this point the trail mostly descends, staying on or near the ridgeline with very good views of the main Dry Creek drainage and Hidden Lake. You briefly climb back up to 7,000 feet before descending to the intersection of Dry Creek Trail #151 and USFS Trail #77. This is also a good vantage point to view Heart Lake of Dry Creek. The trail then descends further down to a low saddle directly above Heart Lake.
Shortly after the saddle, leave the trail and make your way up to the summit along the ridge, taking the most desirable route. There are several rockslides to cross or you may elect to drop below them. NOTE: I have not hiked the ridge from the trail before. I would consider this route to be the harder of the two, not only for the added distance but a definite higher amount of elevation changes. Like the route from Cascade Pass, there are no water sources along the route from the Dry Creek Summit.
At the Summit: The summit has a benchmark/state line marker in the center of a rock cairn. The view North and East are the best with Eagle Cliff Peak and the Dry Creek drainage dominating the scene. Heart Lake (Dry Creek) and its sister pond along with Dry Creek Trail #151 are very visible. Lost Peak is also visible. The South & West views were not very clear on the day I was on the summit due to the amount of smoke in the air. If you have time and energy you may want to take a walk down the long South ridge for a different view. Both routes offer some very good overlooks of assorted lakes and drainages. I would say that the Dry Creek route has better views along the entire way in comparison to the Cascade Pass route.
