Montana Adventures.

[Colin Ritchie]

Hi Everyone.
I want to spend about 10 Days in Montana Late July/August. Before I start trail planning does anyone have any suggestions for some good camping and trails? I drive a lifted LR4 with a PC X1 in tow.
Thanks and Best regards
Colin

 

[David C Gibbs]

Redondo Beach to Montana - Do you want to travel Fast, and then Explore? Or - do you want to plan on Drive, explore, no-agenda, Sight-see, and plan a return trip. Montana is a big state, all the Mountains, lakes, rivers are in the Western part of the state. How many miles, hours - do you want to drive each day? Boise, to Phoenix and return was 2600 mile trip. Lot's to see in Montana -
Flathead Lake, Hungry Horse Res, Glacier NP, Whitefish Lake, Missoula is a great town. Let me know, I can pull my Montana file. David

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Redondo Beach to Montana - Do you want to travel Fast, and then Explore? Or - do you want to plan on Drive, explore, no-agenda, Sight-see, and plan a return trip. Montana is a big state, all the Mountains, lakes, rivers are in the Western part of the state. How many miles, hours - do you want to drive each day? Boise, to Phoenix and return was 2600 mile trip. Lot's to see in Montana -
Flathead Lake, Hungry Horse Res, Glacier NP, Whitefish Lake, Missoula is a great town. Let me know, I can pull my Montana file. David

David,
Thanks for the prompt reply, that is very nice of you. Yes Redondo Beach is a long way however I get to drive my wife to her retail destinations and then I bugger off into the woods for as long as I can. This time I'm driving her to Bosman and then I have 10 Days. The return trip is not my concern just yet because I'm not sure where she's off too after MT. I have heard that the Fort Peck Area might be a good place to start and track down the Missouri River (that small Ferry seems quite quaint).
I prefer to drive on the dirt although I'm not a "wheeler" climbing over large boulders, somehow that is not fun for me, probably because I use the same vehicle to get home.
I look forward to hearing from you, maybe get to meet you at one of the expo's to say thank you officially.
Best regards
Colin

 

[shortbus4x4]

Fort Peck area is awesome. Fort Benton is another very cool place. You could drive up to Fort Peck and then drive across the high line (hiway 2) to Havre and down to Missoula through Fort Benton and Great Falls and then back to Bozeman. There are some cool dirt roads you can make your way over to Fort Benton from Fort Peck that go through some pretty country.

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Fort Peck area is awesome. Fort Benton is another very cool place. You could drive up to Fort Peck and then drive across the high line (hiway 2) to Havre and down to Missoula through Fort Benton and Great Falls and then back to Bozeman. There are some cool dirt roads you can make your way over to Fort Benton from Fort Peck that go through some pretty country.

Thanks for that and of course the correct spelling of Bozeman :) I'll look up those routes. Cheers.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Thanks for that and of course the correct spelling of Bozeman :) I'll look up those routes. Cheers.

The dirt roads are south of hiway 2. I used a Benchmark Montana atlas when I was doing my trips on those roads.

 

[shortbus4x4]

There are also some cool museums and if you're into dinosaurs look up the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

 

[David C Gibbs]

David,
Thanks for the prompt reply, that is very nice of you. Yes Redondo Beach is a long way however I get to drive my wife to her retail destinations and then I bugger off into the woods for as long as I can. This time I'm driving her to Bosman and then I have 10 Days. The return trip is not my concern just yet because I'm not sure where she's off too after MT. I have heard that the Fort Peck Area might be a good place to start and track down the Missouri River (that small Ferry seems quite quaint).
I prefer to drive on the dirt although I'm not a "wheeler" climbing over large boulders, somehow that is not fun for me, probably because I use the same vehicle to get home.
I look forward to hearing from you, maybe get to meet you at one of the expo's to say thank you officially.
Best regards
Colin

Colin,
1115 Total Miles one-way to Bozeman, with an over-night in Cedar City, UT. Two full days of driving Interstate Freeways, Redondo Beach to Bozeman
David

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Colin,
1115 Total Miles one-way to Bozeman, with an over-night in Cedar City, UT. Two full days of driving Interstate Freeways, Redondo Beach to Bozeman
David

David, I know it's quite the drive, I stayed at Goose Neck State Park the last time I did this on the way home. On the way up I camped at Twin Lakes near Buena Vista. The Land Rover is great on these journeys and the PC trailer is a breeze to tow. I watched the X Overland series this morning with the family travelling through Montana, I'm tempted to follow their route on this trip. Montana looks amazing.

 

[shortbus4x4]

Here's an old shcool house between Havre and Great Falls just off the highway. There are a few abandoned homesteads, churches, schools, and cemeteries. Also some missile silos that are still active.

 

[genocache]

Did you read this thread? US Rocky Mountain - Summer trip to WY/MT (Not Yellowstone) - Overland route and campsite suggestions

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Did you read this thread? US Rocky Mountain - Summer trip to WY/MT (Not Yellowstone) - Overland route and campsite suggestions

That's way to much black top for me. I'm sure that it will still be a great trip.
Have fun out there.
C

 

[rangerLadTX]

Driving from Ft. Collins to Bozeman to pick up the wife from the airport. Looking for a place to get up to with some water to let the pup swim and maybe throw a line out or paddle board in late July. Any recs?

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Driving from Ft. Collins to Bozeman to pick up the wife from the airport. Looking for a place to get up to with some water to let the pup swim and maybe throw a line out or paddle board in late July. Any recs?

You have the Yellowstone River right there. Have a whip around the maps and find a spot.

 

[DRAX]

That's way to much black top for me. I'm sure that it will still be a great trip.
Have fun out there.
C

That's actually my main loop for a trip we leave on in just over a week. Doesn't include any off-road/overlanding trails, just marking main areas along the way that we will venture off pavement to explore and camp and is mainly a reference for how far we'll be driving so we can plan our days accordingly. ;)

Check out the Magruder Corridor - Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests - Magruder Road Corridor - and the guide the USFS put together - https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm91_055707.pdf - as well as Idaho's Magruder Corridor Wilderness Road

 

[ThundahBeagle]

You have the Yellowstone River right there. Have a whip around the maps and find a spot.

Or the Gallatin river if you take i80 west to Rock Springs and turn north on the 191. I saw lots of kayakers even back in late May and the Gallatin is famous for fishing as well. Theres a few quiet
or shallow spots for the dog

 

[Colin Ritchie]

Fort Peck area is awesome. Fort Benton is another very cool place. You could drive up to Fort Peck and then drive across the high line (hiway 2) to Havre and down to Missoula through Fort Benton and Great Falls and then back to Bozeman. There are some cool dirt roads you can make your way over to Fort Benton from Fort Peck that go through some pretty country.

This became the backbone of the trip, starting at Fort Peck, Fort Benton, Belt, Virginia City, Wickes Road and the Greeley Creek Road. About 900 miles. Thanks for the inspiration very much appreciated. Have a great weekend. Colin

 

[David C Gibbs]

And the Madison...

 

[shortbus4x4]

This became the backbone of the trip, starting at Fort Peck, Fort Benton, Belt, Virginia City, Wickes Road and the Greeley Creek Road. About 900 miles. Thanks for the inspiration very much appreciated. Have a great weekend. Colin

I'm jealous. Go a bit south of the highline and take a ferry or two across the Missouri to get to Fort Benton. I used to stop at the Missouri Breaks center on the river and eat lunch on my way back to work in ND, it's pretty cool. Just one warning, if it rains get off the dirt and get to pavement ASAP. The dirt in eastern MT turns to slippery gumbo that overwhelms all mud tires and 4x4s. Looking forward to your trip report.

 

[Colin Ritchie]

I'm jealous. Go a bit south of the highline and take a ferry or two across the Missouri to get to Fort Benton. I used to stop at the Missouri Breaks center on the river and eat lunch on my way back to work in ND, it's pretty cool. Just one warning, if it rains get off the dirt and get to pavement ASAP. The dirt in eastern MT turns to slippery gumbo that overwhelms all mud tires and 4x4s. Looking forward to your trip report.

That's great advice thank you, I would have kept going in the mud. The Stafford Ferry is on route but you can't have too many river crossings:) I'm really looking forward to the Wickes RR tunnel actually. The trip starts August 2nd, my wife's uncle fly's in from Long Island NY to Billings, I have to be in LA for the 13th August when he will return to NY. I'll post on my IG account first. colin underscore ritchie is where you will find me. Thanks once again for you great advice and local Intel. Colin