Picnicking

Picnicking Areas

• Ashland RD

  The Ashland Ranger District is located in south-central Montana. The present day Ashland Ranger District was originally known as the Otter Forest Reserve, and later became the original site of the Custer National Forest Supervisor's Office.

  The 436,000 acre Ashland Ranger District contains the largest contiguous block of land in Federal ownership in eastern Montana and has one of the largest grazing programs in the nation.

  This area is also rich in coal and wildlife. Some oil and gas activity has occurred, but no producing wells have been found to date.

  The District offers a variety of topography, varying from rolling grasslands to steep rock outcrops. Vegetation varies from prairie to dense stands of ponderosa pine.

  There are three riding and hiking areas on the District totaling 40,000 acres (Cook Mountain, King Mountain, and Tongue River Breaks). These areas are closed to motorized travel but provide excellent opportunities for hunting, solitude, and nature study. There are no developed trails within the hiking and riding areas. There are 4 campgrounds and 2 picnic sites on the District.

• Blacks Pond Campground
• Cow Creek Campground And Picnic Area
• Holiday Spring Campground
• Poker Jim Butte Picnic Area
• Red Shale Campground
• Beartooth RD

  The Beartooth Ranger District is located in south central Montana and encompasses the Beartooth and Pryor Mountain Ranges. The district office is located in Red Lodge, MT, 65 miles southwest of Montana’s largest city, Billings.  The district is known for its rugged mountains and sub-alpine tundra plateaus. The highest 41 peaks in Montana are located in the Beartooth Ranger District, including Granite Peak, which is the highest and stands at 12,799ft.

  The district serves as the northeastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park and is home to the Beartooth Scenic Highway. The Beartooth Highway is consistently rated one of the most scenic mountain drives in America. The highway, open from Memorial Day to mid-October (weather permitting), climbs to 10,947ft and offers stunning vistas and many recreation opportunities on the Custer Gallatin National Forest and the Shoshone National Forest.

  

  The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness makes up 65% of the Beartooth Unit and offers a wide range of scenic landscapes and hidden treasures. There are many trails that provide access to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, but be aware that travelling in the wilderness area comes with additional regulations.

  For more information on the Beartooth Mountains, click here.

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  The Pryor Mountain Unit of the district is located about 60 miles east of Red Lodge, MT adjacent to both the Crow Indian Reservation, BLM lands, and the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. The dry limestone uplifts and formations create a stark contrast to the Beartooth Mountains. The views from the Pryor Mountains offer long, beautiful vistas of the surrounding countryside. The peak time for wildflowers is the month of July.

  Some of the highlights of the Pryor Mountain Unit are Big Ice Cave, Dry Head Vista, and the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.  The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is found on the eastern edge of the Pryor Mountains and is managed by the BLM.

  For more information on the Pryor Mountains, click here.

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  Recreation Opportunities on the Beartooth Ranger District are divided into four geographic locations:

  • Beartooth Front (Red Lodge Creek, East Rosebud, West Rosebud, Benbow, Stillwater River area)
  • Meyers Creek Area
  • Pryor Mountains
  • Red Lodge Area (US Hwy 212, West Fork of Rock Creek, Line Creek Area)

  Maps:
  Click here to see trail and area maps.
   

  Important links:

  • Know before you go (helpful travel information, weather, road conditions, forest fire information).
• East Rosebud Campground
• Jimmy Joe Campground
• Sand Dunes Picnic Site
• Initial Creek Campground
• Old Nye Picnic Area and Fishing Access
• Woodbine Campground
• Emerald Lake Campground
• Pine Grove Campground
• Big Ice Cave Picnic Area and Interpretive Site
• Sage Creek Campground
• Greenough Lake Campground
• Limber Pine Campground
• M-K Campground
• Parkside Campground and Group Campsites
• Parkside Group Picnic Site
• Rattin Campground
• Palisades Campground
• Wild Bill Lake Trail and Picnic Area
• Bozeman District

  The Bozeman district covers the northwestern section of the Custer Gallatin National Forest. It encompasses much of the recreation area near the city of Bozeman, MT including Hyalite.

  Sections surrounding Big Sky, MT and much of the Bridger Range is also on the Bozeman district.

• Bridger/Bangtails

  Recreational Opportunities along the east side of the Bridger Mountain Range and Bangtails.

• Battle Ridge Picnic Area
• Moose Creek Flat Picnic Area
• Red Cliff Picnic Area
• Spanish Creek Picnic Area
• Blackmore Camp
• Hood Creek Group Campground / Picnic Area
• Hyalite Day Use area and Hyalite Pavilion
• Palisade Falls Picnic Area
• Gardiner District

  The Gardiner district covers the southeast part of Custer Gallatin National Forest, bordering Yellowstone National Park. Both Gardiner, MT and Cooke City, MT are within the Gardiner district.

  Gardiner Dispersed Camping 

• Cinnabar Picnic Area
• Clarks Fork Picnic Area
• La Duke Picnic Area
• Sphinx Creek Picnic Area
• Yankee Jim River Access
• Hebgen Lake District

  The Hebgen Lake district encompasses the southwest portion of Custer Gallatin National Forest stretching down the west boundary of Yellowstone National Park. West Yellowstone, MT is included. Hebgen Lake covers the central part of the district.

• Ghost Village Point of Interest
• Hebgen Dam Picnic Area
• Hebgen Lake Basin Area

  A large basin surrounding the town of West Yellowstone with a multitude of recreational activities on both the north and southwest side of Hebgen Lake. 

  In general the north side of the lake is well suited for day use with a couple designated campsites while the south side of Hebgen Lake has various fishing access sites and dispersed camping sites that are first come, first serve, along with designated campgrounds.

  Hebgen Basin Brochure

• Rainbow Point Picnic Area
• Sioux RD

  The 163,000 acre Sioux Ranger District is located in the southeast corner of Montana and the northwest corner of South Dakota. The District is composed of eight separate Land Units and has often been described as "islands of green in a sea of rolling prairie." This is an appropriate description as the Federal Lands are hills or mesas of ponderosa pine rising above rolling grasslands. The area offers excellent antelope, mule deer, white-tail deer, and turkey hunting. The area is also rich in archeological and paleontological resources, produces some oil, and supports a sizable domestic livestock population.

  The Sioux Ranger District is home to one of the largest population of merlin falcons in North America. There are numerous opportunities for dispersed recreation such as hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, snowmobile riding, and cross country skiing throughout the District.  There are no designated hiking trails, but most of the ridges are open and provide spectacular panoramic views.  Two stocked fishing ponds with populations of crappie, bass, and rainbow trout can be found on the District.

• Ekalaka Park Campground
• MacNab Pond
• Lantis Spring Campground
• Wickham Gulch Campground
• Reva Gap Campground
• Yellowstone District

  The Yellowstone district includes a portion of the Crazy Mountains and covers the northeast section of the Custer Gallatin National Forest south of Big Timber and east of the Yellowstone river.  It also includes an area of land to the west of the Yellowstone river adjacent to the east side of the Bozeman district.

• Big Timber Canyon
• Big Timber Picnic Area
• Halfmoon Picnic Area
• Natural Bridge Falls Picnic Area
• Pine Creek Picnic Area
• Shipping Corrals Picnic Area
• Suce Creek Picnic Area