This district is made up of portions of the 286,000 acre Great Bear Wilderness within the Flathead National Forest and sits east of the city of Hungry Horse.

If you want an extreme wilderness setting for a Mt. Goat hunt, this is the place for you. Billy’s horns range from 8” to 9” or better. Plan on spending a few days hunting with a day in and a day out of travel. The more time you can spend in the backcountry, the better the opportunities you might have to harvest a mature Mt. Goat.

The District is on the western side of the Continental Divide. Hungry Horse Reservoir on the western edge was created by damming up South Fork Flathead River. The Flathead River runs through the magnificent John F. Stevens Canyon creating the eastern boundary. The mountains are very rugged with many alpine basins and highly forested river bottoms. Snowmelt and rain are carried to both the South Fork and Flathead Rivers by a large network of drainages.

Alpine areas are alive with a vast display of wildflowers and lush meadows during summer months. Moss and lichens cover the rocky outcrops and slopes. Below timberline are dense stands of spruce, fir, ponderosa and lodgepole pine with a mix of aspen groves, mountain shrubs and willows along creek bottoms.

Great Bear Wilderness Area – Flathead National Forest is the focal point for Mt. Goat hunting. Hundreds of miles of Forest Service trails allow tag holders to reach deep into the wilderness backcountry. Outside of the wilderness area many Forest Service roads provide routes to trailheads. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the wilderness. U.S. Highway 2 travels along the eastern and northern boundary.

Flathead National Forest as a number of improved campgrounds with the Hungry Horse Ranger District. The communities of Hungry Horse, Martin City and West Glacier provide a variety of motels, restaurants and cafes, medical facilities and 24/7 gas and diesel. Whitefish and Columbia Falls are larger population centers that support large hospitals and many more options of motels and restaurants.