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Places to see in Beaverhead County
Beaverhead County is the largest in Montana and includes a broad range of scenic and geologic diversity. From the high mountain meadows and sub alpine peaks to expansive basins, Beaverhead County offers a rich natural and human history to visitors and residents alike.
Here are a few of the places you’ll want to see. Click on the links below to find out more:
Bannack State Park
BANNACK...Toughest Town in the West
Montana's first territorial capital, Bannack was the site of the territory's first major gold strike in 1862 and the cradle of Montana's government.
Today a quiet ghost town 25 miles southwest of Dillon, Bannack slumbers alongside Grasshopper Creek, once the source of millions of dollars in precious dust.
During its heyday, Bannack was terrorized by renegade Sheriff Henry Plummer, whose desperadoes murdered 102 individuals and robbed countless others.
Bannack's law-abiding citizenry rebelled against those atrocities, however. Formation of the "Vigilantes" spelled an end to Plummer's forays. Twenty-eight of his murderous gang, including Plummer himself, were hanged. Some on a gallows previously built by the outlaw sheriff.
The "Toughest Town in the West" then faded as new strikes lured its one-time population of over 3,000 away.
Its reputation, however, lives on in Western history and fiction. The remnants of some 60 buildings remain as mute testimony to its rich and oft times violent beginnings.
Visitors can relive that era during annual Bannack Days, staged on the third weekend of July. Bannack was made a part of the Montana Park System in 1954 and now is open year-round during daylight hours.
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Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
This largest of the national forests in Montana covers 3.32 million acres, and lies in eight Southwest Montana counties (Granite, Powell, Jefferson, Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, Madison, Gallatin and Beaverhead). U.S. Forest Service (USFS) offices administering the national forest are in Butte, Dillon, Philipsburg, Deer Lodge, Whitehall, Boulder, Ennis, Sheridan, Wise River, Wisdom and Lima. Click here to enter the USFS site.
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Beaverhead Rock
On the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacajawea recognized this as a landmark of her people because of the resemblance of the rock to a beaver's head.
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Big Hole National Battlefield
Haunted by the encroachment of miners, settlers and stockmen, five bands of Nez Perce Indians — numbering 800 and including 125 warriors — fled their homelands in Idaho and Oregon under threat of confinement to reservations.
Pursued by U.S. Army troops under General Oliver Howard, this flight spanned 1,300 miles with numerous pitched battles marking that 1877 journey, led by Chief Looking Glass.
On August 9, the tragic turning point of that Nez Perce War occurred in the Big Hole Valley, west of the current day Wisdom. Army troops attacked the Nez Perce encampment before dawn, firing indiscriminately into the village, killing men, women and children. Nez Perce snipers then used deadly accuracy to force the soldiers back across the river. After two days of bitter fighting, the battle was over. Thirty Indian warriors lay dead, along with an equal number of other tribal members. Military losses included 29 dead and 40 wounded. While that victory belonged to the Nez Perce, they would eventually surrender in September, just 30 miles from their goal of Canada. Near the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, Chief Joseph ended that tragic odyssey with the pronouncement: "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."
Visit this historic site, National Park Service personnel at the Visitor's Center will help you plan your visit and provide an orientation to the Park.
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The Big Hole Valley
This eye-catching high mountain valley, stretching 59 miles along the western border of Beaverhead County, is framed by the Bitterroot Mountain Range, whose peaks soar to elevations nearing 11,000 feet.
On the valley floor, 39 miles wide at its broadest point, are expansive ranches reminiscent of the early West. Famed not only for its cattle, the area also was acclaimed as the "Land of 10,000 Haystacks", deriving from its nutritious wild hay which boasts a worldwide reputation as having no parallel.
The population centers include Wisdom (120), Jackson and Wise River (50 each). Annual events, which attract national audiences, feature Blackpowder Shoots, Old Timer's Day, Big Hole Battlefield Celebration, Big Hole Valley Days, and Turkey Shoots.
In addition to the customary recreational activities, Big Hole attractions list such specialties as snowmobiling, dogsledding, trap shooting, hang gliding, brandings, gun shows and fiddlers' contests.
While visiting Montana, travel the Big Hole Loop Scenic Drive from Dillon through Jackson, Wisdom, Wise River, Divide, Melrose, Glen and back to Dillon, and experience the West at its best. The drive offers spectacular views of the Beaverhead, Pioneer, Anaconda, and Fleecer Mountain Ranges, and invites the fisherman to stop along the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers for some world famous blue ribbon fishing. Take your time, though, and savor the western atmosphere where you can watch haying operations that still utilize horses and beaverslides and where you might well meet a herd of cattle being driven down the highway! Enjoy the small towns, where "friendly" is a way of life.
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Birch Creek Center
Visit this extension of the University of Montana Western campus, nestled high in the Birch Creek drainage. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930's, this camp is on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information, visit the Birch Creek Center website.
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Charcoal Kilns
While you're in Beaverhead County, be sure to travel up Canyon Creek to view the 1870's beehive charcoal kilns, one of the few and best remaining such sites in Montana. Indicative of early historic industrial mining technology in southwestern Montana, these kilns are associated with the famous Hecla Mine and the historic smelter town of Glendale.
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Clark Canyon Reservoir
While visiting southwestern Montana try an afternoon of water skiing or fishing on the glassy waters of this man-made lake. If you visit during the winter months, try your hand at ice fishing for ling and monster trout! Camp Fortunate, an important stop for the Lewis and Clark expedition is located on the northwestern shore of the reservoir.
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Coolidge
Get the feel for what a 1920's mining town was like! Coolidge was developed around the Elkhorn Mill site and had a narrow gauge railway which carried ore from the mill to the town of Divide where it was loaded on the Union Pacific mainline for shipping to a smelter outside of the State.
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Crystal Park
Dig in the hillside for natural quartz crystals. If you are lucky, you might even find an amethyst scepter!
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Dillon Jaycee Rodeo and Parade
Aptly described as "Montana's Biggest Weekend", the Dillon Jaycee Labor Day Rodeo and Parade project provides an exciting and colorful end to summer. The arena action lures America's top riders and ropers, matched against the toughest rodeo stock in two days of heart-stopping action. The Labor Day Parade has also gained an enviable reputation for its panoramic display of entries.
Rodeo is a tradition in Beaverhead County, originating as the Dillon Pow-Wow in 1914. With one exception (1939), these shows have been staged in August or September, with a variety of sponsors involved during those 80 years. The Dillon Rodeo Association took over the event from 1943-56 and triggered a popularity which attracted crowds of 7,000–10,000.
The Dillon Jaycees assumed command in 1956 and since that date have added numerous improvements and additions, including the Montana Rodeo Queen Contest and the Labor Day evening concert which features major stars from the Country and Western music scene.
In the spirit of their creed, Jaycees annually return proceeds toward needed community projects, reaffirming that "Service to Humanity is the Best Work of Life"!
This years concert performer will be announced and posted in late spring. Tickets for the concert go on sale in late July at the Jaycee Building at the Beaverhead Country Fairgrounds. For information please call (406) 683-5771 after the information is posted.
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Grasshopper Recreation Complex
Located on the Beaverhead National Forest, this complex offers downhill skiing at Maverick Mountain; many miles of cross-country skiing that ranges in difficulty from novice to experienced; a take-off point for the famous Wise River-Polaris National Snowmobile Trail and other snowmobile routes through the West Pioneer Mountains; and year-round hot springs swimming and relaxation.
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Italian Peak Area/Continental Divide Trail
If you are seeking outstanding scenery, interesting geologic features, abundant wildlife, and isolated hiking adventures, the Italian Peaks are just the ticket. Strap on your pack and spend your leisure time hiking along the Continental Divide, where peace and solitude are yours just for the taking.
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Land of the Lunkers
TROUT…that magic word to rod-and-reel enthusiasts . . . abound in seemingly endless riffles and pools of blue ribbon rivers, mountain lakes and valley streams meandering through lush meadows.
Nationally famed fly fishing waters such as the Big Hole and Beaverhead Rivers continue to produce fighting three to six pound Brown and Rainbow trophies. Clark Canyon Dam, 20 miles south of Dillon, attracts anglers both summer and winter to explore this land of lunkers.
Area sporting goods stores will provide needed information designed to the individual's preference. Guides afford exciting float trips as well as lake and stream outings.
Tie into excitement when you hook a battling Beaverhead beauty…and create memories for a lifetime!
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Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
Situated 85 miles southeast of Dillon in the primitive beauty of the Centennial Valley, the Refuge spans over 43,500 acres, including more than 14,000 acres of lakes and marshes.
Here, the Trumpeter Swan — one of nature's most beautiful and graceful of all birds — has found a haven from threatened extinction.
Once a familiar sight over most of the U.S. interior, these swans diminished until in the early 1900's only a remnant population remained. Established in 1935, the Refuge provided protection and solitude which, by the Sixties, increased their numbers to almost 1,500.
Today, the Red Rock Lakes rank among the most important nesting and wintering areas in North America for the majestic Trumpeter Swans.
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Wise River-Polaris National Snowmobile Trail
The Wise River-Polaris National Snowmobile Trail offers winter visitors spectacular views of snow-capped peaks and tranquil mountain meadows.
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