The trail starts in an old clearing or burn that’s been overrun with larch and lodgepole pine, which are not quite high enough to provide any shade. As the trail rises, though, it enters a more mature forest of mixed conifers (mostly spruce). The trail follows the spine of the ridge closely, except for a spot halfway up, where it departs to the northwest, then switchbacks and regains the ridge. The higher up you go the more open the forest becomes, with frequent meadows near the top and the tree cover replaced with subalpine fir.

The views from Burton Peak into the heart of the Selkirk Crest and the Kootenai River Valley are fabulous and worth every step. The rickety old lookout is a squat log structure, apparently built of locally-sourced log. A short off-trail scramble leads along a granite edge of Cascade Ridge to the next peak, which offers a birds’ eye view of Burton as well as a small tarn far below.