SW Montana

[searching for nowhere]

I'm back from my trip exploring SW Montana. I'm beginning to post the trip to my blog. It may take a week or so to get done, but you can start following along now.

I'll update this post when I'm done.

Enjoy

 

[Foy]

Looks like you and I were in Philipsburg and around Melrose and Vipond Park within a day or two of one another.

Foy

 

[searching for nowhere]

Vipond Park was one of my favorite places I discovered. Did you drive the road between the kilns and Vipond Park? I had been warned about the road at the ranger station. I'm a wimp. But I decided to drive it and fortunately I didn't meet anyone coming the other direction.

 

[Foy]

Sure did. Wife was on the drop off side. No problem.

 

[searching for nowhere]

The blog posts are done.

Enjoy.

Now I need to start planning the next trip.

https://searchingfor.blog/

 

[Foy]

Very nice trip report!

If it was Elk Lake Lodge you called seeking road into for the Monida-Red Rock Lakes NWR route, they closed for the season on Tuesday, Sept 25. Jake and Laurel, the proprietors, hung out the "Closed" signs and themselves headed off to Bozeman as we pulled out Tuesday morning, leaving the hired help to begin the winterization of the cabins and other infrastructure.

We'd stopped by Bannack on Sunday the 23rd, visited new friends in Dillon, then went out Blacktail Deer Creek to Red Rock Lakes and Elk Lake Lodge for 2 nights.

Foy

 

[searching for nowhere]

Foy: Did you drive up to the Gravelly Range?

Elk Lake Lodge is on my to-do list. I have a friend who loves it there. That is how I heard of Red Rock Lakes.

 

[Foy]

Yes, we drove pretty much the whole length of the Gravelly Range Road (GRR) upon leaving Elk Lake Lodge. We took the North Shore Road west from ELL to Metzler Creek, crossed some BLM land going north up to its headwaters (mostly a two-track, NOT for trailers, and clay-sufaced/rutted) which becomes FS 290 at the BLM/NF boundary line. Another 3 or 4 miles and you're connected to the Eureka Basin Rd which there takes on the FS 290 designation and holds it for around 30 miles north, past Black Butte, where then Call Rd (FS 292) takes you down off of the plateau to Fish Hatchery Rd south of Ennis.

The GRR is incredible, simply incredible. I could spend a week up there, easy.

We love Elk Lake Lodge. Very nice and well-appointed cabins, excellent food, and congenial hosts. Be sure to venture past the lodge and over the low divide northward to Hidden Lake. It's about 200 acres, very deep, and we saw a goodly number of rainbow trout in the 24" + range. Its very remote access and hike-in for the last quarter mile keeps crowds away.

Foy

 

[searching for nowhere]

I need more vacation time.

Thanks for the info. The Gravelly Range will stay on my to-do list.

 

[Vic Harder]

Yes, we drove pretty much the whole length of the Gravelly Range Road (GRR) upon leaving Elk Lake Lodge. We took the North Shore Road west from ELL to Metzler Creek, crossed some BLM land going north up to its headwaters (mostly a two-track, NOT for trailers, and clay-sufaced/rutted) which becomes FS 290 at the BLM/NF boundary line. Another 3 or 4 miles and you're connected to the Eureka Basin Rd which there takes on the FS 290 designation and holds it for around 30 miles north, past Black Butte, where then Call Rd (FS 292) takes you down off of the plateau to Fish Hatchery Rd south of Ennis.

The GRR is incredible, simply incredible. I could spend a week up there, easy.

We love Elk Lake Lodge. Very nice and well-appointed cabins, excellent food, and congenial hosts. Be sure to venture past the lodge and over the low divide northward to Hidden Lake. It's about 200 acres, very deep, and we saw a goodly number of rainbow trout in the 24" + range. Its very remote access and hike-in for the last quarter mile keeps crowds away.

Foy

Foy, I'm thinking of doing this in 2019, likely first week of July. Is that too early?

 

[Foy]

I wouldn't know with certainty. Depends on '18/'19 snowpack and May-June weather. There are certainly a goodly number of north-facing slopes along the road where snowbanks can linger, but I faintly recall reading about some Springtime snow removal efforts along the GRR. With so much above-timberline open space, the wildflowers are a big deal and that may be a factor in spurring some snow removal. I'd consider a chat by telephone with somebody at the Madison Ranger District office of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF and following them on Facebook keeps you close to the news feed, as well.

Foy, I'm thinking of doing this in 2019, likely first week of July. Is that too early?


Twice in consecutive years I've been turned around in the first or second weeks of July by snowbanks on north-facing slopes at elevations between 9,200' (2010) and down to 8,500' (2011) in the Pioneer Mountains of Montana, around 40 miles W-NW of the Gravellies. The great majority of the "good stuff" along the GRR is at 9,000' and above. The 2010 stoppage was on a spur road which sees little other than ATV traffic but the 2011 stoppage was on a through-route, albeit following a near record snowpack in '10/'11.

Since you'll be in the neighborhood, you'll want to consider visiting the Centennial Valley (home to Red Rock Lakes NWR) at the south end of the GRR. Searching for Nowhere, the Ski3pins, and yours truly heartily recommend it.

Foy

 

[Vic Harder]

Since you'll be in the neighborhood, you'll want to consider visiting the Centennial Valley (home to Red Rock Lakes NWR) at the south end of the GRR. Searching for Nowhere, the Ski3pins, and yours truly heartily recommend it.

Foy

Thanks Foy. By Centennial Valley, do you mean the road from Monida to Red Rock Lakes?

 

[Foy]

Thanks Foy. By Centennial Valley, do you mean the road from Monida to Red Rock Lakes?

Yes, that's the Centennial Valley stretching from I-15 at Monida (no services closer than Lima, about 20 miles north on I-15) east through Lakeview (no services) past Red Rock Lakes NWR, over Hellroaring Creek (the true headwater source of the Missouri River) to Red Rock Pass (graded gravel--Camry rated) and reaching US 20 at Henry's Lake, ID, around 60 miles from Monida or 45 miles from the road junction north of the Lima Reservoir headwater crossing shown as Lyons Bridge on my Benchmark.

I'd traverse the CV along the South Shore Rd, aka Monida-Lakeview Rd, Red Rock Pass Rd, or just MT-509. It's the main road, runs in most places a few tens of feet above the expansive pancake-flat CV valley floor, and passes through Lakeview where the RRLNWR office/visitor center is located. Lakeview has something of a population in summer what with NWR visitors and a number of students and researchers at several field stations. But no fuel or other services.

And, to the west, west of Lima and Dell is the Big Sheep Creek Backcountry Byway softly calling for another 60 mile gravel road excursion through canyons, huge sagebrush hills, the forested Tendoy Range and southernmost Beaverhead Mountains, popping out on MT 324 not far from Bannack...........

Foy

 

[longhorn1]

Vipond Park was one of my favorite places I discovered. Did you drive the road between the kilns and Vipond Park? I had been warned about the road at the ranger station. I'm a wimp. But I decided to drive it and fortunately I didn't meet anyone coming the other direction.

My wife got a great rainbow shot as we neared the top. We had a pick-up coming down, and he backed up out of the way. We to loved Vipond Park. We pulled off into the lodgepole pines and camped for the night.

 

[Vic Harder]

Yes, that's the Centennial Valley stretching from I-15 at Monida (no services closer than Lima, about 20 miles north on I-15) east through Lakeview (no services) past Red Rock Lakes NWR, over Hellroaring Creek (the true headwater source of the Missouri River) to Red Rock Pass (graded gravel--Camry rated) and reaching US 20 at Henry's Lake, ID, around 60 miles from Monida or 45 miles from the road junction north of the Lima Reservoir headwater crossing shown as Lyons Bridge on my Benchmark.

I'd traverse the CV along the South Shore Rd, aka Monida-Lakeview Rd, Red Rock Pass Rd, or just MT-509. It's the main road, runs in most places a few tens of feet above the expansive pancake-flat CV valley floor, and passes through Lakeview where the RRLNWR office/visitor center is located. Lakeview has something of a population in summer what with NWR visitors and a number of students and researchers at several field stations. But no fuel or other services.

And, to the west, west of Lima and Dell is the Big Sheep Creek Backcountry Byway softly calling for another 60 mile gravel road excursion through canyons, huge sagebrush hills, the forested Tendoy Range and southernmost Beaverhead Mountains, popping out on MT 324 not far from Bannack...........

Foy

Thanks for this Foy. I added to Big Sheep to our route.