Bitterroot National Forest - Montana

Tel: (406) 363-7100

Go wildlife watching for whitetail deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and mountain lions and enjoy interpretive walks by the light of the moon!

The ancestral home of the Bitterroot Salish Native Americans and a center of the Lewis and Clark expedition-inspired Gold Rush, Bitterroot National Forest has 1.6-million-acres of the largest, most rugged wilderness areas in the Rockies. With two jagged-peaked mountain ranges, the Bitterroot and the Sapphire, nearly half the forest is designated wilderness and home to deer, elk, moose, black bears, and bighorn sheep.

The Bitterroot National Forest offers a wealth of recreational opportunities, especially in the backcountry. Visitors can go hiking, horseback riding, boating, water skiing, fishing and downhill skiing. The forest offers more than 35 campgrounds (both at developed sites and in dispersed areas), with picnic areas and winter play areas. Or if you prefer, spend the night in a quiet rustic cabin nestled deep in the forest. Be sure not to miss the "Walk by the Light of the Moon" series of interpretive walks during spring, summer, fall and winter.

The Bitterroot National Forest occupies 1.6 million acres in the Northern Rocky Mountains, and access is provided by U.S. Highway 93 which bisects the Forest from north to south.