Lolo National Forest

Surrounding Missoula in west-central Montana, Lolo National Forest covers over 2 million acres of mountainous terrain along the Continental Divide and the Bitterroot Range. The Rattlesnake Wilderness and National Recreation Area lies remarkably close to downtown Missoula, providing residents with immediate access to 33,000 acres of protected backcountry with alpine lakes, waterfalls, and old-growth forest. Lolo Pass, at the forest's western edge, marks the historic crossing where Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery struggled across the Bitterroot Mountains in 1805 on one of the most harrowing segments of their transcontinental journey. The forest offers exceptional mountain biking on trails like the renowned Blue Mountain system, extensive Nordic skiing networks at Lolo Pass, and some of the best wild huckleberry picking in Montana during late summer. The Seeley Lake and Blackfoot River corridors provide outstanding fly fishing, kayaking, and wildlife viewing, with the Blackfoot immortalized in Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It." The forest's diverse ecosystems support healthy populations of elk, moose, black bears, mountain lions, and wolves, making it one of the most accessible wildland areas in the Northern Rockies.