Montana

To get to this swimming hole you drive south from Hungry Horse on the West Side Road (Forest Road 895) 33.6 miles to the Graves Creek Campground. Park in the small parking lot with the bear box and outhouse, opposite the campground closer to the lake. Follow the path as it leads you past the casc...

From Interstate 90, exit at Racetrack #195. Continue west for one mile and turn north at a T intersection. Follow the road for about 0.75 mi. to Quinlan Rd. and continue west with a dogleg south for 3.5 mi. Take a sharp right to the north east to a Y and take the left fork. After about 0.07 mi., ...

The hike up Willow Creek Gorge is one of my favorites so far. Unfortunately, because of the terrain and elevation gain, I wouldn't recommend taking young kids but if you do, make sure they're attached to you in some way. There are no services at the trail head, so make sure to bring everything yo...

The trailhead is easily visible from the parking area and ascends into a narrow canyon surrounded by dense forest. Mill Creek is not much more than a trickle at the beginning, but slowly gets larger and follows the trail the entire hike. About a half mile in, cross the log bridge over Mill Creek....

The Refrigerator Canyon Trail is a scenic trail that leads into the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. While this trail goes back for up to 16 miles, for this adventure, we will focus on the first half-mile of the trail. The first half-mile of Refrigerator Canyon Trail is the most scenic and uniq...

About 2 mi. south of Condon, MT, take Rumble Creek Road east to Cooney Lookout and park at the trailhead at 4550 ft. Follow the trail for about 1 mi. and after about 100 yards after the third bridge, look for a well worn trail heading up the hill side. Take this steep, hard-packed trail and follo...

To reach the trailhead, travel west on US Hwy 93 for 17.9 mi. and then turn right onto Olney Crossover Rd. This road will continue for 8.8 mi. and then keep left onto NF-115 for 9.7 mi. and the destination will be on the right hand side. There is a parking area where the trailhead begins. From th...

Hebgen Lake is a beautiful lake, just outside of Yellowstone National Park. With 21 square miles of surface, there's plenty to fish.A favorite place to access the lake for ice fishing is by Kirkwood Resort and Marina. There's easy parking, and you can just walk right out on the lake. The locals t...

The Izaak Walton Inn was established in 1939 to accommodate workers and visitors from the rapid expansion of the Great Northern Railway. Conveniently built near Highway two, it is a short drive from both the West Glacier and East Glacier Entrances. If driving from West Glacier, continue on Highwa...

About 100 miles of mostly gravel roads (14 miles of pavement) will take you around this beautiful reservoir.  With that many miles of road and the shoreline to go with it, it is obvious that there is plenty to see and do in the Hungry Horse area. Check out some of my other adventures for ideas of...

Drive to the North Flathead Launch in Somers, MT (15 miles south of Kalispell). Launch the kayaks and head south towards the yacht club. Once past the yacht club, paddle eastward, you should come upon a wooden shack, a number of wooden poles, and an island. Continue eastward past these various fe...

From the Camp Misery Trailhead (elev. 5,717 ft) take the left Trail 8 for .6 miles. At the junction continue left for a 1.3 mile gently ascent into Jewel Basin. Nearing Twin Lakes continue left on Trail 7 for .6 miles until you reach Trail 55. Continue right, and make sure that after a short .3 m...

Spotted Bear Beach is a secluded white sand beach in the middle of Montana. To get here from the town of Hungry Horse, drive east on Highway 2 for ½ mile to the East Side Reservoir Road #38. Turn right (south) onto Road #38 and drive on through the town of Martin City. After two miles the pavemen...

Mission Canyon Natural Bridge is located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation just outside Hays, Montana. Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is home to the Assiniboine (Nakoda), and the Gros Ventre (aaniiih) tribes, and is the forth largest Indian reservation in Montana.  The People's Creek flows ...

When you turn on Holland Lake Lodge road, follow the signs towards the lodge.  You will notice a sign that directs to a day use area, which is an option, but I prefer to continue to the very end of the dead end road.  There is parking and a vault toilet at the dead end along with a trailhead sign...

Flying over Glacier National Park in a small airplane is an epic way to see the beautiful scenery of this National Park. If you haven't even been to the park before, it is a great way to see it for the first time, which was the case for me.  Time: The best time to fly over these majestic mountain...