Northwest Montana

Bull Lake. © Jason Savage

Brrr… is all I can say about last weekend. I got some hair-brain idea to go camping up in Northwestern Montana last weekend during one of the coldest spells we’ve ever seen in October. It was around zero waking up Monday morning and certainly felt much colder.

I spent the evening camping out near the Ross Creek Cedars area which is a magnificent Cedar Grove located about twenty miles southwest of Libby. It’s a really cool area that looks more like it would fit in Washington’s Olympic rain forest than in Northwestern Montana.

Ross Creek Cedars. © Jason Savage

The purpose for my trip was not only to explore some new areas of Montana I hadn’t seen, but also to scope out some fall colors.  I started up near Eureka, a town of around five thousand located just a few miles south of the Canadian Border, and ended up west of Troy near Idaho. Very awesome country and I can’t wait to return. The forests up in Northwestern Montana are not only spectacular, but unique to this part of the state.

Unfortunately, the fall colors were done for. The persistent cold temperatures appeared to be taking their toll and the tree’s leaves did not look like they were fairing well or were going to be making a come back any time soon. There were a few areas where bits of color appeared, but they were few and far between.

In any case, the area was amazing and I hope to get back up there soon. If you are looking for some cool areas to visit in this part of the state, I would check out the Ross Creek Cedars and also the Kootenai River area west of Libby.