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People choose to travel to and live in the Bitterroot Valley for many of the
same reasons. Here you are close to the splendor of natural beauty.
Wilderness is quite literally three miles from the edge of town and when
someone tells you they can be fishing five minutes after leaving work,
they’re not exaggerating.
Here are a few ideas for taking advantage of the best
Montana has to offer while you’re staying at the loft.
Hiking
The Bitterroot Valley offers some of the most diverse
hiking experiences in the West.
On the west side of the valley, craggy mountain peaks
and rugged canyons are the gateway to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.
These canyons offer easy, short hikes with mystical
views of waterfalls, towering cliffs, and lush green forests, or longer
challenging hikes to the tops of peaks several miles from the trailhead.
When hiking the trails expect to see moose, mountain goats, deer, elk and a
variety of birds.
At the heads of these canyons is the divide between
Idaho and Montana and the heart of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, which
is part of the largest contiguous piece of wilderness in the lower 48. This
is truly the last wild place.
When staying at the loft, you are only minutes away
from two of the most popular trailheads in the valley: Blodgett and Canyon
Creek.
Day Hikes
One of my favorite aspects of living in the Bitterroot
Valley is how easy it is to get away. In the summertime, when the days are
Arctic in length (as Norman Maclean said), the best part of the day comes
after 5 o’clock.
On both the west and east side of the valley are a
plethora of trails that can shuttle you quickly away from the busy world and
into the woods. The number of potential day or evening hikes are simply too
many to list. Discovering them takes a little acquaintance with a map and a
good pair of boots.
One of the quickest and easiest afternoon hikes is Soft
Rock, east of Corvallis. The east side of the valley is more arid and open.
The trail at Soft Rock takes you through sagebrush flats and ponderosa pine
draws, before it climbs up the open face of Chaffin Butte, home to
Corvallis’ famous “C”. The steep hike is a good workout, but only takes a
couple of hours to complete. From the top you can see farmers cutting hay,
sprinklers watering acres of alfalfa and the river bottom cottonwoods
winding their way north and south.
To get there, take Willow Creek Road east out of
Corvallis to Summerdale Road and take a left. Follow Summerdale less than a
mile and then take a right on Soft Rock Road. The trailhead is located at
some old corrals.
Another good evening hike is the Blodgett Canyon
overlook. This short trail begins at the Canyon Creek trailhead just west
of Hamilton. The overlook trail heads north from the Canyon Creek Trailed
and immediately winds up the ridge that divides Blodgett and Canyon Creek
drainages. The reward for this short hike is a beautiful view of the
Bitterroot’s most popular creek, with its shear canyon walls and majestic
glaciated valley.
For a more challenging day hike head south of Darby.
Trapper Peak is the highest mountain in the Bitterroots at over 10,000 feet.
The trail to the top is about 4 miles long and gains more than a 1,000 feet
per mile. But the view from the top is heavenly. Make sure to bring plenty
of water and give yourself most of a day to get the hike in. To get to the
trailhead, follow the highway up the West Fork of the Bitterroot River for
about 15 miles until you seen a sign directing you to Trapper Peak, not
Trapper Creek.
Another popular day hike in the Bitterroots is St.
Mary’s Peak, west of Stevensville. The trail is a moderate hike and from the
trailhead to the summit of the peak is about 4.5 miles. On a clear day from
St. Mary’s you can see deep into Idaho to the west and north to the Mission
Mountain Range and Rattlesnake Wilderness Area outside of Missoula. To get
to the trailhead, turn on St. Mary’s Road off Highway 93 just south of
Stevensville and follow the signs.
These three hikes are a good start, but there are so
many other. For more information, contact the Forest Service in Hamilton at
363-7100.
Here are a few Web sites to provide more information
about hiking in the area.
This site will give you an idea of the diversity of
hikes in the Bitterroot Valley, plus contact information to find out more.
http://www.theoutdoorforum.com/Montana/BitterrootNationalForestHikes.htm
This article highlights one of the best local hiking
resources, Mort Arkava’s book “Hiking the Bitterroots”
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/bonus/vista/vista10.php
Here are a couple of articles on Mort Arkava and his
hiking recommendations.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2002/04/18/export2782.txt
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2004/04/30/bitterroot/25-outdoors.txt
In the fall, a short hike can reward you with a
wonderful view.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2004/10/01/bitterroot/80-outdoors.txt
Birding
With a variety of habitats, the Bitterroot Valley
offers a diversity birding opportunities.
The river bottom and wetland habitats provide a home
for bald eagles, great blue herons, nesting ducks, cranes, swans,
woodpeckers and osprey.
Above the valley floor on the east side is a divers
upland and sagebrush habitat, with a variety of songbirds and raptors.
On the west side, birders will find a more typical pine
forest habitat with a unique blend of owls, woodpeckers and songbirds.
In addition to all this, many areas in the Bitterroot
Valley are going through a natural transition brought on by the devastating
wildfires of the summer of 2000. That summer, during a two-month time span,
over 350,000 acres burned in and around the valley. As these areas began
recovering, bird species moved in.
In the burned areas you can find black-backed
woodpeckers, Lewis’s woodpecker, MacGillivray’s warbler and wild turkeys.
The valley is also blessed with two wildlife refuges.
The Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge is operated by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is located just north of
Stevensville.
http://leemetcalf.fws.gov
The Teller Wildlife Refuge is a private, non-profit
refuge located just north of Corvallis.
http://www.tellerwildlife.org
Both offer a wide variety of birding and nature viewing
opportunities.
The Bitterroot is also home to a unique trail system.
The Bitterroot Birding and Nature Trail began in the summer of 2005 and
provides people with 25 sites around the valley that offer a variety of
birding experiences.
For a map of the sites, check out:
http://www.montanabirdingtrail.org/
Here are a few articles from the local newspaper about
birding in the area.
Great blue herons return!
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/articles/2006/03/27/outdoors/84-outdoors.txt
Spring is a great time to see swans in the valley.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2004/03/23/news/news01.txt
Bald eagles are common in the valley.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2006/01/06/bitterroot/76-outdoors.txt
Lee Metcalf has miles of trails and birding
opportunities.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2005/04/18/news/news02.txt
Wild turkeys have also made a come back in the valley.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2005/01/21/news/news02.txt
The areas burned in 2000 provide habitat for unique
birds.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2005/06/10/bitterroot/29-outdoors.txt
The burned areas are also providing researcher a unique
look into how birds recover after a fire.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2004/07/02/bitterroot/08-outdoors.txt
Mountain Biking
Mountain biking is a growing passion in the Bitterroot
Valley. Thousands of miles of trails are open for the pastime, not to
mention the quick and easy availability of forest roads.
Riders of every skill level can enjoy biking in the
Bitterroot. If you want a leisurely ride, the mountain roads can be a great
escape. If you want a expert-level ride, trails in the Sapphire Mountains
on the east side of the valley will push the most seasoned rider to their
limits.
The local bike shops are the best source of information
about mountain biking in the valley.
Call Chad DeVall at Red Barn Bicycles: (406) 369-0487
http://www.redbarnbicycles.com/home.html, or Randy Leavell at Valley
Bicycles and Ski: (406) 363-4428, or e-mail valleybicycle@yahoo.com
Check out these articles about mountain biking from the
local newspaper:
This article outlines one of the more challenging rides
in the area:
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2005/07/15/bitterroot/23-outdoors.txt
Mountain biking has been an up and coming sport in the
valley for a few years. This article tells why.
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2004/05/16/bitterroot/21-outdoors.txt
This is a profile article about Red Barn Bicycles:
http://ravallirepublic.com/articles/2005/05/27/bitterroot/40-business.txt
Horseback riding
The same trails available for hiking into the
wilderness are also available for access by horseback. It’s not uncommon to
meet trail riders far back in the wilderness. And as more people desire to
see the wonders of the backcountry from a horse, more opportunity is being
made available.
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