Quick Tips
- GPS and maps are very helpful
- Quality optic recommended
- Be cautious of bears, keep a clean camp
On The Ground
This district is located northwest of the community of Choteau. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation to the east, Glacier National Park to the north and portions of Bob Marshall Wilderness within Lewis and Clark National Forest are in the south. Large tracts of public lands make up one of the smallest mountain goat areas in the state.
Getting to where the mountain goats call home may be the hardest challenge to overcome. Billies typically have horns from 8” to over 9” with heavy mass.
Terrain
The Lewis and Clark Range helps form the western boundary along with Continental Divide, with the headwaters of Badger Creek and North Fork of Birch Creek heading eastward off it peaks and basins. Near the middle of this district lays the Sawtooth Range with peaks reaching over 8,000 feet. Gateway Pass along the southern border is over 6,000 feet leading into a couple of other districts. Steep granite peaks with long rocky ridges, alpine meadows and basins give way to timbered slopes broken clinging below walls of granite.
Roughly 88 square miles
98.9% public land
Elevations from 5,500-8,500 feet
Vegetation
Lower elevations near Swift Reservoir have some meadows with willows and cottonwoods along creek bottoms. Climbing into the foothills thick groups of mountain shrubs and open spaces of short grasses, ponderosa pine and some groves of aspen yield to steep mountain slopes of dense stands of spruce, fir and pine.
Access
Not the easiest district to access. Forest Service roads and trails provide travel routes to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, as well as into the Lewis and Clark National Forest. Travel throughout the wilderness is best accomplished by pack string for any extend stay. U.S. Highway 89 is one of the major routes that connects with county roads leading to wilderness and National Forest boundaries.
Camping and Lodging
Camping on Lewis and Clark National Forest is restricted to 16 days in one area. Check with local National Forest office for developed camping details. Primitive camping is allowed within the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Choteau offers some motels, cafés and restaurants, medical facilities, gas and diesel. Great Falls miles to the southeast has a regional airport, medical center and a wide variety of motels, hotels and other useful services.
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