Hanna Flats Cedar Grove -

Idaho Panhandle National Forests

The Hanna Flats Cedar Grove includes a 1/4-mile interpretive nature trail highlighting the valuable features of this old-growth forest. The trail takes you beneath immense trees that have survived generations of homesteading, logging, firestorms and centuries of nature’s wrath. In addition to the cedars, the grove also contains numerous other trees, shrubs and plants. Eight different species of trees, ten species of shrubs and over a dozen plant species have been identified in the grove.

Estimating the age of these giants, which range from 4 to 12 feet in diameter and reach heights of 150 feet, is difficult due to heart rot which hollows out the center of the tree; therefore, an accurate count of the rings cannot be made. Through cutting windfalls and increment borings of healthy trees, the average age has been estimated at 800 years, with a few hearty survivors achieving the 2000-3000 year old status

This grove of western red cedar and western white pine trees provides habitat for birds that require old growth forests. Species present include Varied Thrush, Pacific Wren, Cassin’s Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, and Northern Goshawk. Hanna Flats is stop N16 on the Idaho Birding Trail.