In central Montana, 149 miles of the Upper Missouri River were designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976, upstream from the reservoir in Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. This stretch of the river still looks much the way it did when the Lewis and Clark expedition first explored it in 1805 and their former campsites are marked by posts. The breaks are a topographic area where the Missouri River eroded sedimentary rock that formed as horizontal layers laid down at the bottom of an ancient sea. The National Monument comprises public land in a matrix with private ranches, with cattle making the water unfit for filtering. There are a couple places to drive to along the river, but the best way to experience it is by floating a canoe or kayak down the non-motorized sections
Fort Benton, Decision Point, Neat Coulee, Citadel Rock, Hole-in-the-Wall, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Must-Do Activity
In Fort Benton, start your visit at the free interpretive center run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), then head downtown to learn more history by walking the riverfront of Fort Benton National Historic Landmark, including its many museums (admission fees charged) and sculptures of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea and her son Pompey, and Shep (a local dog famous for his faithfulness). To find out more about the Corps of Discovery, check out the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center upstream in Great Falls. The most scenic stretch to float lies in the 44 miles between Coal Banks Landing and Judith Landing where there are no rapids and the river current is so strong that paddling is mostly reserved for steering. A permit (fee) is required from the BLM, and we recommend you purchase a Boaters’ Guide and W.A.G. bags. Wildlife we spotted along the river included bighorn sheep, bald eagles, white pelicans, great blue herons, and beavers.
Best Trail
Only accessible by boat, the hike up the slot canyon at Neat Coulee from the Eagle Creek Developed Boat Camp is worth a stop. It is also possible to scramble up to the eight-foot-tall Hole-in-the-Wall arch that comes into view on the south side of the river just past Citadel Rock.
Photographic Opportunity
One of the few places with road access in Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, at Decision Point, Captains Lewis and Clark were not sure which was the main route: the Marias or Missouri River.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
There is a small fee charged per person per day to be on the river, which helps pay for the maintenance of vault toilets along the route (other waste must be packed out in W.A.G. bags). An America the Beautiful pass covers the admission fee for the small museum at the BLM visitor center in Ft. Benton.
Road Conditions
Dirt roads doable by passenger vehicles lead to Coal Banks Landing and Judith Landing, while paved roads lead to put-ins at Chouteau County Fairgrounds in Ft. Benton and Kipp Recreation Area at the western edge of Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.
Camping
There are campgrounds at Chouteau County Fairgrounds, Coal Banks Landing, and Kipp Recreation Area. Throughout the National Monument developed riverside campgrounds can be accessed by boat, with dispersed camping allowed anywhere on public land (a good map is essential to avoid private land).
After we published our guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America in 2023, we decided to start a new type of blog post where we create a travel itinerary for all 50 states, in addition to our usual public land entries. After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai’i, Arizona, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Indiana, we decided to head back west to Montana. There are so many great trails in the state’s National Forests that we had a difficult time narrowing it down. We made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in southeast Montana on Interstate 90, with enough options to easily extend the trip into three weeks or more.
The best time to visit the National Monument is around June 25, the anniversary of Custer’s Last Stand when a reenactment of the battle is held on private land bordering the National Park Service site.
Makoshika State Park
It is illegal to remove dinosaur fossils from these badlands, but there are many on display at the visitor center, in addition to nearby museums (plus reservations can be made to dig on private land). The few campsites are in high demand to spend the night in these colorful canyons where caprocks rise high above juniper trees.
Optional stop at Pompeys Pillar National Monument
A sandstone monolith on the Yellowstone River has been a place for humans to record their passing for 11,000 years. The most famous inscription was left by Captain William Clark on July 25, 1806, the sole on-site evidence of the Corps of Discovery’s three-year journey.
This underappreciated gem in the National Park Service system features gorgeous scenery and abundant wildlife, including bighorn sheep and wild horses. The highlight is across the state line in Wyoming where Devil Canyon Overlook sits atop cliffs that drop over 1,000 feet straight down to the level of the narrow reservoir.
Gallatin Petrified Forest is only accessible by trail, either from a short two-mile one-way jaunt or by backpacking the 27-mile Gallatin Divide-Devils Backbone Trail. Earthquake Lake Geologic Area stretches along Highway 287 to commemorate the events that occurred around midnight on August 17, 1959, when a deadly magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit West Yellowstone.
Some of the National Forest’s miles of hiking trails access the Crazy Mountains and Hellroaring Plateau. The two-mile Glacier Lake Trail steadily climbs 1,100 feet then drops into a bowl containing a stunning reservoir that straddles the Wyoming-Montana border.
Optional drive on Beartooth All-American Road
Custer National Forest is famous for its stretch of Highway 212 that climbs from the prairie around the town of Red Lodge up to 10,947 feet at Beartooth Pass across the Wyoming border in Shoshone National Forest. The road follows the southern border of the giant 943,626-acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, which contains the highest point in Montana.
Located mostly in Wyoming and partly in Montana and Idaho, you could easily spend an entire summer in the world’s first National Park and not see all the thermal features, lakes, waterfalls, wildlife, and hiking trails.
Day 3
Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park
Once a U.S. National Monument, the state now runs a campground here and offers guided tours through a limestone show cave where bats live in the summer.
The free Potosi Campground is situated near the trailhead for Upper Potosi Hot Springs where a 0.8-mile trail leads past the uphill side of a clear 100°F pool with room for about six adults.
Optional stop at Chico Hot Springs
If you leave Yellowstone National Park north through Gardiner on Highway 89, consider stopping at this developed hot springs (fee) that offers live music poolside on some nights (especially if the park’s Boiling River was closed). In business since 1897, even Teddy Roosevelt stopped to rest here.
Day 4
Bannack State Park
East of Lemhi Pass on the Idaho border (which is also the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail through there), Bannack State Park preserves more than 50 buildings from a gold rush town that was the territorial capital in 1864.
The site of a surprise attack by the U.S. Army on the morning of August 9, 1877, where Nez Perce warriors forced the troops to retreat, capturing a Howitzer cannon and allowing women and children to escape toward the newly created Yellowstone National Park. Part of the widespread Nez Perce National Historical Park, a small visitor center here overlooks the battlefield and a paved road accesses trails through it.
Blodgett Creek Trail leads 12.6 miles one-way to Blodgett Lake, but you do not have to go that far to appreciate its incredible beauty.
Optional stop at Elkhorn Hot Springs
In the Pioneer Mountains, about ten miles north of Highway 278 is the privately owned Elkhorn Hot Springs (fee), a great place to relax after hiking. There is free dispersed camping to the north in Beaverhead National Forest.
Day 5
Travelers’ Rest State Park
Follow in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition by driving the Lolo Trail (Highway 12), soaking at Lolo Hot Springs, or walking around Travelers’ Rest State Park (still a great place to camp).
Missoula
Do as the University of Montana students do and float tubes down the Clark Fork River through town. In the summer, look for webcam-famous Iris the Osprey in the parking lot near the football stadium. The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula preserves buildings dating back to 1877, including an Alien Detention Center used during World War II.
Outside Missoula, there are many trails in Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Blue Mountain Recreation Area, plus the Aerial Fire Depot and Smokejumper Center, Ninemile Historic Remount Depot, and Savenac Historic Tree Nursery Area.
This working ranch commemorates the nineteenth-century lifestyle of cattle barons and cowboys. Free guided tours are offered inside the large ranch house, and a self-guided walking tour enters 15 buildings with displays on the history of barbwire, branding irons, and much more.
Day 6
National Bison Range
Established in 1908 under President Theodore Roosevelt and now run by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Start at the visitor center, then take the 19-mile Red Sleep Mountain Drive to see mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, and the namesake bison.
Jewel Basin Hiking Area is famous among backpackers, and further south so is Holland Lake, which has several campgrounds. The steep Holland-Gordon Trail passes Holland Falls as it climbs 2,100 feet in 5.8 miles to Upper Holland Lake and continues into “the Bob” (Bob Marshall Wilderness). Flathead National Forest contains more than 2,800 miles of hiking trails, including 38 miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail and a stretch of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
Optional stop at Mission Mountains Wilderness
Located within Flathead National Forest, a popular trail accesses multiple mountain lakes; it is only 1.5 miles one-way to Glacier Lake, but we recommend continuing to Turquoise Lake. It borders the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness (permits required).
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park’s renowned Going-to-the-Sun Road was built to cross the park from east to west in the 1920s (reservations are required to drive it between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the summer). At its highest point at 6,646-foot Logan Pass, the road crosses the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
In the state’s northwest corner, incredible views await at Blue Mountain Trail, Skyline National Recreation Trail, Scenery Mountain Lookout Trail, Ross Creek Scenic Area of old-growth western redcedar trees, and Kootenai Falls (located in a county park on the side of Highway 2).
Meriwether Lewis named the Gates of the Mountains on July 19, 1805, and today a two-hour jet boat tour on the Missouri River provides history on the Corps of Discovery, American Indian pictographs, the Mann Gulch Fire, and the collapse of Hauser Dam. A trail through Refrigerator Canyon is less than ten feet wide at its narrowest point, where towering 200-foot limestone cliffs keep it cool and breezy throughout the summer.
Great Falls
North of Helena on Interstate 15 is the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (fee), which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service on the banks of the Missouri River.
This 375,000-acre National Monument preserves a stretch of the Missouri River that still looks much the way it did when Lewis and Clark explored it. Start your journey by paying for permits at the Bureau of Land Management interpretive center in historic Fort Benton, where you can launch your canoe or kayak to access 149 miles of the river. There are developed boat camps with vault toilets along the route, or you can pick your own spot near one of the Corps of Discovery campsite markers.
It includes portions of the Boulder Mountains, Flint Creek Range, and Elkhorn Mountains, as well as part of the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. Our favorite hike is Haystack Mountain National Recreation Trail off Interstate 15, where a climb of 2,000 feet ends at a mountaintop boulder field with panoramic views and the remnants of a fire lookout tower.
Backpacking is a major draw with trails in the Snowy Mountain Range and parts of the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas, which provide crucial habitat for grizzly bears. It encompasses one of the most famous formations along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, the 15-mile long Chinese Wall (a 1,000-foot-tall cliff composed of five-million-year-old limestone).
Located in western Montana, the elevation of Lolo National Forest ranges from less than 2,400 feet on the Clark Fork River below Thompson Falls to the top of 9,186-foot Scapegoat Mountain. West of Missoula off Interstate 90, the Ninemile Historic Remount Depot preserves a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp and pack stock training facility. Founded in 1907, the Savenac Historic Tree Nursery Area is also well developed for visitors, including an arboretum and cabin rentals in what were formerly the cookhouse and bunkhouse.
Highlights
Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, Lolo Pass Visitor Center, Lolo National Historic Trail, Fort Fizzle, Blue Mountain Recreation Area, Cascade Falls, Savenac Nursery, Petty Creek Bighorn Sheep Viewing Site, Clearwater Canoe Trail, Stark Mountain Vista, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Must-Do Activity
Lolo National Forest surrounds Missoula, where the Aerial Fire Depot and Smokejumper Center offers guided tours and exhibits. Right outside of the city are numerous hiking trails in Blue Mountain Recreation Area and Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, which contains 73 miles of trails (and has its own blog entry on our website). Following a path used by the Corps of Discovery in 1805, the Lolo National Historic Trail shadows Highway 12 west into Idaho (see Clearwater National Forest). Take time to stop at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Best Trail
Morrell Falls National Recreation Trail leads to a 90-foot-tall waterfall on the western slope of the Swan Range. The trail is 5.5 miles out-and-back, mostly flat with some short inclines as it cuts through a burned area now full of beargrass and fireweed. The waterfall cascades down a rocky outcrop and is well lit in the afternoon. The trailhead is located 7.5 miles from Highway 83 on a good gravel road that has well-signed intersections. Also nearby, the Pyramid Pass Trailhead provides access to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in adjacent Flathead National Forest.
Watchable Wildlife
There are 60 species of mammals found in Lolo National Forest, including grizzly/brown bears, black bears, mountain lions, gray wolves, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, moose, and mule deer. Among the largest of the more than 300 birds spotted are bald eagles, golden eagles, and trumpeter swans. The five rivers and over 100 lakes are home to 30 varieties of ducks and 20 types of fish.
Photographic Opportunity
Located on the western slope of the Swan Range, 90-foot-tall Morrell Falls is accessed on a 5.5-mile out-and-back hike.
Situated only four miles from Missoula, Montana within Lolo National Forest, Rattlesnake National Recreation Area is a popular area for outdoor recreation year-round. It was established in 1980, at the same time as the adjacent 32,976-acre Rattlesnake Wilderness, which ranges in elevation from 4,200 feet up to 8,620-foot McLeod Peak. The National Recreation Area has one of the only Sphagnum bogs in the western U.S. and Rattlesnake Creek hosts bull trout, cutthroat trout, and mountain whitefish.
Highlights
Rattlesnake Main Trail, Ravine Creek Trail. Sawmill Curry Gulch Loop Trail, Spring Gulch Trail, Stuart Peak Trail
Must-Do Activity
There are 73 miles of hiking trails in the National Recreation Area, but the most heavily used are the first three miles of Rattlesnake Main Trail along Rattlesnake Creek. These trails are also open to horseback riders, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers. Be aware that mountain lions and black bears frequent the area, and we came across a bear on a warm morning in early August.
Best Trail
Rattlesnake Main Trail follows an old logging road along the creek for the first nine miles before it gets steeper. Other popular hiking options include Ravine Creek Trail, Sawmill Curry Gulch Loop Trail, Spring Gulch Trail with its moderate elevation gain, and Stuart Peak Trail that climbs steeply up into the Rattlesnake Wilderness.
Photographic Opportunity
Rattlesnake Creek attracts many animals, including the American dipper or ouzel, an aquatic songbird.
Peak Season
Summer
Fees
None
Road Conditions
From the Van Buren Street exit #105 off Interstate 90, head north as it turns into Rattlesnake Drive, which you drive for approximately three miles to the entrance.
Camping
There is no campground within the National Recreation Area and the closest ones in Lolo National Forest are much further west on Interstate 90 or to the north off Highway 83.
East of the Continental Divide in Montana, Lewis and Clark National Forest is split across eight mountain ranges east and west of the Missouri River. The largest western section butts up against Glacier National Park to the north and includes parts of the Scapegoat and the Bob Marshall Wilderness areas, which provide crucial habitat for grizzly/brown bears and world-class places for backpacking. The Lewis and Clark Forest Reserve dates back to 1897, with the now-defunct Jefferson and Absaroka National Forests added in 1932 and 1945 respectively. Since 2014, it has been co-managed with Helena National Forest.
Highlights
King Hill Scenic Byway, Cataract Falls, Sun River Gorge, Gibson Reservoir, Mt. Wright, Deep Creek Loop National Recreation Trail, Windy Mountain Trail, Crystal Cascades Trail, Crystal Lake Shoreline Loop Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
Must-Do Activity
We have always wanted to visit the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service’s 25,000 square-foot Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls, Montana. It features an exhibit hall, hiking trails, and a 158-seat theater, and it is open daily in the summer and Wednesday through Sunday in the offseason. We have also wanted to backpack in the rugged Snowy Mountains, which draw backcountry skiers in the winter and horseback riders in the summer. We will have to return to this central part of Montana, which includes one of our favorite places to explore: Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument run by the Bureau of Land Management.
Best Trail
One of the most famous formations along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail is the 15-mile long Chinese Wall, a 1,000-foot-tall cliff composed of five-million-year-old limestone. Its closest access is 15 miles one-way from the South Fork Sun Trailhead, which is often marked as Packers on maps at the end of the gravel Benchmark Road (Forest Road 235). The trail begins by following the South Fork Sun River before crossing a bridge and entering the Bob Marshall Wilderness. We got a late start on the way in and came across a grizzly/brown bear grazing near the trail that evening and, on the drive out, we stopped to photograph three moose near Wood Lake Campground and a common loon in Anderson Lake.
Watchable Wildlife
Grizzly/brown bears are the most famous residents of the National Forest. Additional mammals include black bears, mountain lions, Canada lynxes, wolverines, mule deer, Columbian white-tailed deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, and moose. Bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and three types of grouse are often spotted. There are excellent fly-fishing opportunities in the 1,600 miles of rivers and streams.
None except for the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls, which costs $8 per person or you can use an America the Beautiful pass.
Road Conditions
We drove the gravel Benchmark Road (Forest Road 235), which was long and in excellent condition.
Camping
There are 29 vehicle-accessible campgrounds in Lewis and Clark National Forest, including Wood Lake Campground near the South Fork Sun Trailhead. Backcountry and dispersed camping options abound.
Raven About The Parks 