Libby Creek arises on the east slopes of the Cabinet Mountains and flows in a northeasterly direction for about 29 miles to its confluence with the Kootenai River. The upper part of the drainage is in the rugged Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area. The creek runs mainly through timberlands. Much of the bottomland in the lower 10 to 15 miles of the drainage has been subdivided into one to ten-acre plots. The stream's channel stability and water quality have been subject to impacts from mining, logging, grazing and housing development. Libby Creek is the most important trout spawning and nursery tributary for the Kootenai River downstream from Libby Dam.