It is on the Montana–Idaho border, approximately eight miles (13 km) due south of Montana State Highway 43 in the Beaverhead–Deerlodge National Forest in Beaverhead County, Montana,[1] and Salmon National Forest in Lemhi County, Idaho.

Note: This location should not be confused with Big Hole Pass on Montana Highway 278 (between Wisdom and Polaris) at the height of land west of Dillon, that denotes the eastern entrance to the Big Hole valley.

[4] On their return trip east in 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition separated at Traveler's Rest near modern-day Lolo.

[5] This pass cannot be seen from a paved highway but is frequently traversed by through-hikers on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

Within a mile of Big Hole Pass, a woods road sits on the actual Continental Divide.