Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Road, and follow it for 0.6 mile. Turn left onto Richetts Road, follow it for 2 miles, and
then turn west onto Forest Road 736 for 2.4 miles to the intersection of Blodgett Canyon
Road. Turn right and drive 1.5 miles to the trailhead.
Another wonderful quick hike that offers an excellent overlook of Blodgett Canyon and
signs of the great fires of 2000 is the
Blodgett Canyon Overlook.
It is a short three-mile
round-trip trail, but it is steep, with 1,100 feet of elevation gain on a switchbacking trail
to a heart-stopping overlook. There are benches along the way and an interpretive exhibit
on forest fire ecology. To find the trailhead, follow the directions to the Blodgett Canyon
Trailhead above, but at Blodgett Canyon Road, turn left (west) and drive three miles to the
trailhead.
The U.S. Forest Service maintains three mountain bike trails in the valley: the 10-mile
Bass Creek Recreation Area Day Use Trail
(Bass Creek Rd., 5 miles northwest of
Stevensville), the 17-mile
Hart Bench Mountain Bike Loop
(off Forest Rd. 5711) near
Darby, and the 19-mile
Railroad Creek Mountain Bike Loop
(Skalkaho-Rye Rd., 16
miles southeast of Hamilton). Road cyclists will be grateful for the paved path between
Lolo and Florence that eliminates the need to ride on the highway. Rentals, service,
and repairs are available at
Valley Bicycles and Ski
(219 S. 1st St., Hamilton, 406/
363-4428,
www.valleybicyclesandski.com
). The best resource in the area for race-worthy
mountain bikes is
Red Barn Bicycles
(399 McCarthy Loop, Hamilton, 406/363-2662,
Horseback Riding
In addition to numerous guest ranches in the area (listed at
www.montanadra.com
)
, guided
trail rides are available in Hamilton from
Lost Horse Creek Lodge
(1000 Lost Horse Rd.,
406/363-1460,
www.losthorsecreeklodge.com
,
call for rates), which offers rides along Lost
Horse Creek into the 1.6-million-acre Bitterroot National Forest.
Golf
The 18-hole
Hamilton Golf Club
(1004 Golf Course Rd., 406/363-4251,
www.hgcmt.com
,
Mar. 1-Oct. 31, $33 for 18 holes, $20 for 9 holes), three miles east of Hamilton, was estab-
lished in 1924 and is still considered among the best public courses in the Northwest. The
mild weather in the valley gives this course more playable days than almost any other in the
state. A clubhouse serves three meals daily with incredible mountain views.
