|
The Bitterroot Riverhouse and surrounding area offer a wide variety of things to see and do.
(Click on the many underlined links below for more info on each subject)
Beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife--moose, elk, deer, eagles, waterfowl, songbirds, and more--for viewing & photography
Over 1600 miles of hiking trails--easy to difficult--in the Bitterroot National Forest surrounding the cabin. Trapper Peak is the highest peak in the
Bitterroot
Mountain
Range, rising to 10,157 feet above sea level at the summit. A hiking trail takes adventurous climbers to the peak, where they may enter their names in a record book. The climb is steep and the top of the mountain carries a residual cap of snow year-round. Makes a great day hike.
Excellent trout fishing from your front door and throughout the area
Skalkaho Falls: is east of
Hamilton
on MT Highway 38. This breathtaking waterfall can be viewed close up from the road. The trip is well worth it, however the scenic gravel road is only open during the summer and fall. Beyond the falls you can visit the Skalkaho Game Preserve.
The 1,300 acre Teller Wildlife Refuge, nestled between
Corvallis
and the
Bitterroot River
, was established by conservationist/philanthropist Otto Teller. The historic Slack homestead, which was built in the 1860s, is a part of the refuge and is used for many of the activities there, which include wine tasting, harvest festivals, plow days featuring teams of horses and mules and antique farm machinery. For more information about the refuge call 961-3707.
Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding: Lost Trail Powder Mountain is one of the best kept secrets and finest downhill slopes in the state.
Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing
Gold panning
Barbecuing
Roasting marshmallows over a campfire
Croquet, badminton, horseshoes, washers, board games
Quiet relaxing or reading
Star gazing
Shopping for
Montana
souvenirs, cowboy hats, Native American and western artwork, antiques, collectibles, and much more in Darby. The selection will exceed your expectations.
Sightseeing:
Magruder Corridor Road, a unique road that enables a traveler to drive between two wildernesses: the 2.3-million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return and the 1.2-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot. Together they form the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 states. View spectacular scenery in a vast unspoiled forest highland that has very few visitors due to its remote location.
Breathtaking panoramic views from nearby forest service fire lookouts on Bare Cone and Lookout mountains
Alta Ranger Station, the first forest ranger station in the entire
United States
. It was constructed in 1899 by Than Wilkerson and H.C. Tuttle who used cross-cut saws and axes in the construction. They also made a long round-trip to Grantsdale near
Hamilton
to haul in a window for the cabin, metal hinges for the door and the first American flag ever to fly over a ranger station in the
United States
. When Alta Ranger Station was established, the now-deserted community of Alta was a gold mining camp with a population of about 500 miners living in tents and working Hughes Creek. Many traces of that mining activity are still visible.
The nearby Alta Pine, is the largest Ponderosa Pine Tree in the
Bitterroot
National Forest
. It has reached the end of its lifespan, dying after a lightning-caused fire several years ago. However, it will doubtless stand for another century, providing a home for numerous forest creatures. The tree is in a grove a short way off the trail and can be reached by a handicapped-accessible trail. The pine has a huge blaze on one side, left there 500 years ago by Native Americans who were marking a trail through the area. It was a seedling during the European Crusades to the Holy Land an a mature tree when
Columbus
discovered
America
in 1492.
Marcus Daly Mansion, built in the late 1880s as a summer home for one of the state's copper barons. It was home to the family of Copper King Marcus Daly and was the centerpiece of his stock farm and horse racing operation. The house is a beautiful example of turn-of-the-century architecture. It was a remarkable achievement when it was built in the valley, still part of the frontier at that time, and was quite a sight to behold by farmers and homesteaders of the era. Daly was attracted to the Bitterroot by its pastoral beauty and by the supply of timber which he needed to shore up his mines at
Butte
and feed the fires of his copper smelter at Anaconda. The mansion was a summer home for members of his family and used until 1947. It now is owned by the state of
Montana
and is open to the public during the summer seven days a week. The house and the grounds are equally beautiful and guided tours of the mansion are available daily.
The Medicine Tree is four miles south of Conner on U.S. Highway
93. The tree has been a sacred site for the Salish-Kootenai tribes for many generations and tribal members still make regular pilgrimages to the tree, leaving personal tokens such as scarves and feathers. The visits, however, are private. According to legend, on March 11,1824, Alexander Ross discovered the skull and horns of a bighorn ram half imbedded in the tree about five feet off ground. No sign of the bones remain today, however.
The historic Darby Ranger Station across Highway 93 from the
Darby
Elementary School
has been restored to its 1930s era condition when it was the district office. It features displays of
Forest
Service memorabilia from its earliest days and is staffed by volunteers. It offers visitor information as well as maps and educational material for those wishing to enjoy the
Bitterroot
National Forest
. It is open throughout the summer season.
The Darby Historic Visitor Center, located on U.S. Highway 93 in Darby across from the elementary school, just south of Darby Ranger Station, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ranger station features displays of Forest Service memorabilia from the 1930s and 1940s and offers visitor information services on other valley attractions, as well as wood permits, maps, day-use passes for
Lake
Como
and campground information. Summer hours starting June 1 through the end of November are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information call 821-3913.
Fort Owen, just north of Stevensville, was established by Major John Owen in the middle 1800s and is open daily. It was never a military fort but was a bustling trade center for a number of years. There are no guided tours of the fort but self-guided tours are available all year. Brochures are available along with interpretive displays in the buildings. The educational materials describe the early history of the Stevensville area and the fort.
Pioneer Memorial Museum, in Darby is in a log cabin that dates back more than 105 years. The building was donated to Darby by the Matteson family and moved from the banks of Tin Cup Creek to the town's Main Street behind the library. The museum has a turn-of-the-century parlor, complete with organ and gramophone, a trapper's cabin with traps on the wall, and a bear skin on the floor. The original Darby telephone switchboard also is displayed. The museum is open throughout the summer from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
The Ravalli County Historical Museum on the comer of
Bedford
and Second streets in
Hamilton
is a fine example of government buildings designed by architect A. J. Gibson. It formerly was the
Ravalli
County
Courthouse and now holds impressive collections of antique valley household, commercial, scientific and military items. One of the especially interesting displays features the scientists and researchers who discovered the cause of several tick-borne diseases at the
Rocky
Mountain
Laboratories in
Hamilton
.
Saint Mary's Mission, the cradle of early settlement on the Montana frontier, was established in 1841 at the request of the Salish Indians. It was founded by Jesuit missionary Pierre DeSmet. The mission chapel is on the west side of Stevensville, along with outbuildings, a park and an orchard established originally by Father Anthony Ravalli. The county is the namesake of the popular priest. The chapel, Chief Victor's house, Ravalli's residence and Pharmacy all have been restored - the chapel in the Italian style created by Ravalli. It is open every day and guided tours of the buildings are available daily through the summer season. There also is a new guest center and gift shop on the mission grounds as well as picnic areas with tables in the adjoining
DeSmet
Park
. A museum containing many Indian artifacts also is on the mission grounds. St. Mary's was not only the first church and white settlement in Montana, it also was home to the first grist mill, the first agriculture, the first school, and the first flour mill in the state.
Big Hole National Battlefield, site of the dramatic struggle between the Nez Perce Indians and the
U.S.
Army in 1877, one of the best preserved of
Montana
's ghost towns
____________________________________________
|
