National Forests

Nearly 20 million acres of mountains, forests, streams, and other natural areas in Montana’s highlands

Take a hike through the Bitterroot National Forest. (photo by Harry Miller)
Take a hike through the Bitterroot National Forest. (photo by Harry Miller)

The U.S. Forest Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, manages the seven national forests located in Montana.

 

Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
3.32 million acres in southwest Montana near Dillon and Butte

Spanning across much of southwest Montana, from the West Big Hole to the Madison Range, Montana’s largest national forest encompasses eight mountain ranges and lies in eight southwest Montana counties. With towering mountains, vast backcountry, and broad valleys, the Forest contains some of Montana’s wildest and most rugged country and some of the best wildlife habitat in the state. The Forest includes a mix of high alpine zones, grass range, old-growth forest, and wetlands. The Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness area resides in this forest, as does a portion of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. The Forest also contains the West Pioneers Wilderness Study Area. High, sheer peaks covered in thick forests, gentle hills of grass and sage, and broad stream valleys give this area its natural beauty.

Bitterroot National Forest
1.6 million acres in western Montana near Missoula

The Bitterroot National Forest stretches from the Idaho panhandle over the rugged Bitterroot Mountains and gentler Sapphire Mountain slopes north towards Lolo Peak and Missoula. The Bitterroot Mountains are characterized by steep, rugged canyons that open east to the Bitterroot Valley floor. Gentler than the Bitterroots, the Sapphire Mountains on the east side of the valley present a combination of grasslands and forested areas. The drier valley floor and lower foothills are an arid mix of grasslands and scrubland. Higher elevations receive more precipitation and are home to dense forests, alpine lakes, and clear, fast streams. The Forest includes portions of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, and the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. The Forest also includes two wilderness study areas, the Sapphires and Blue Joint, and recommended wilderness on the eastern edge of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and adjacent to the Blue Joint WSA.

Custer Gallatin National Forest
3.2 million acres in southern Montana near Bozeman and Billings

The Custer Gallatin stretches over 500 miles from its westernmost boundary near West Yellowstone to its easternmost boundaries in South Dakota. It contains six mountain ranges: the Bridger, Madison, Absaroka, Beartooth, Crazy, Gallatin, and Pryor Ranges. This Forest is one of the most ecologically, socially, economically, and culturally diverse landscapes in the region, encompassing seven ranger districts. The Forest also hosts three gateways to Yellowstone National Park and over a million acres of Wilderness between the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. The Forest ranges from 10,000-foot summits that rise from subalpine meadows and mix with hanging valleys and lakes to the remote buttes and bluffs of southeastern Montana and northwestern South Dakota. It also includes several areas of unique importance to the Apsaalooke (Crow) and Northern Cheyenne tribes, including the Crazy Mountains, Beartooth Plateau, Pryor Mountains, and Tongue River Breaks. The Forest is home to every species of North American big game animal except caribou. The blue ribbon trout streams of the Madison, Gallatin and Yellowstone Rivers flow through it.

Flathead National Forest
2.3 million acres in northwest Montana near Kalispell

The Flathead National Forest has alpine meadows, towering peaks, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and an abundance of wildlife. It is built from block fault mountain ranges that were carved by glaciers and are covered with a rich thick forest. Precipitation on the Flathead ranges from 20-60 inches per year, creating widely varying zones of plant life and rich ecosystems for diverse wildlife. The landscapes range from the craggy reaches of bare rock in the Mission Mountains Wilderness to the green meadows on the northern edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The Flathead encompasses the Great Bear Wilderness, the Swan Range, the Whitefish Range, and the myriad lakes, streams, and rivers cradled in the valleys between. There are 219 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers in the National Forest, including the North, Middle and South Forks of the Flathead River.

Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
2.8 million acres in central Montana near Helena and Great Falls

The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is a dramatic blend of mountains, meadows, and forests. which lie mostly within the upper Missouri River system. The eastern portion of the Forest includes the Big and Little Snowy Mountains, as well as the Big Belt, Castle, Crazy, Elkhorn, Little Belt, and Highwood Ranges, which are primarily smooth, rounded mountains surrounding semiarid windswept, grassy valleys. The Forest is home to the Gates of Mountain Wilderness and the Middle Fork Judith and Big Snowy Wilderness Study Areas. The western portion of the Forest straddles the Continental Divide, starting at the southern tip of the Glacier National Park and ending just east of Deer Lodge. The Rocky Mountain Front portion, with its glacier-scoured headlands, hanging valleys, and rocky cirque basins includes the Scapegoat Wilderness, the Great Bear Wilderness, and the renowned Bob Marshall Wilderness. The entire area is wild and has a diversity of climates, elevations, wildlife, and landscapes.

Kootenai National Forest
2.2 million acres in northwest Montana near Libby

The Kootenai National Forest makes its home in the mountainous terrain of extreme northwestern Montana. Ranges of steep, rugged peaks give impressive views of the spectacular surrounding country with its variety of landscapes. Because the Forest is sustained by a modified Pacific maritime climate, it is home to a profusion of trees. Fifteen species of conifers alone can be found here, as can a diverse community of wildlife. The mighty Kootenai and Clark Fork Rivers flow through this Forest, which also contains more than 100 lakes. The landscape includes the Whitefish Range, Purcell Mountains, Bitterroot Range, Salish Mountains, Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, the beautiful Ten Lakes area, and the Ross Creek Cedar Grove, home to a grove of western red cedars, some of which are more than 8 feet in diameter and more than 400 years old.

Lolo National Forest
2 million acres in western Montana near Missoula

The Lolo National Forest stretches between the Continental Divide and the Idaho-Montana border. The Lolo is a high-diversity Forest, ranging from wet bottoms to Ponderosa pine savannas to high alpine peaks. The Lolo supports a wide range of vegetation and wildlife species, and water is plentiful. The Forest protects the headwaters and main waterways of some of the best trout streams in western Montana, including the Blackfoot River, Rock Creek, and Fish Creek. This Forest also includes four Wilderness areas (the Rattlesnake, Welcome Creek, and portions of the Scapegoat and Selway-Bitterroot), four Recommended Wilderness areas, a Bob Marshall Wilderness addition, and a Selway-Bitterroot addition. There’s also a number of notable roadless areas, including the Cube Iron-Cataract, Quigg Peak, and the String of Pearls roadless areas between the Great Burn and Lookout Pass.

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