Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest

Stretching 2.9 million acres across central Montana, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest encompasses the dramatic Rocky Mountain Front, where the Great Plains abruptly meet towering limestone reefs rising thousands of feet. The forest protects the Scapegoat Wilderness and the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, the latter named by Meriwether Lewis in 1805 as the Corps of Discovery navigated the Missouri River through towering 1,200-foot limestone cliffs. This landscape provides critical habitat for grizzly bears that are actively expanding their range eastward onto the Rocky Mountain Front, one of the most significant wildlife conservation stories in the modern American West. The forest's Big Snowy, Little Belt, and Castle Mountain ranges offer exceptional elk hunting, backcountry horseback riding, and limestone cave exploration. Winter recreation includes snowmobiling on hundreds of miles of groomed trails and cross-country skiing through snow-covered lodgepole pine forests. The forest also serves as an important watershed, providing clean drinking water to Helena and numerous smaller Montana communities.