Scapegoat Wilderness

The United States Congress designated the Scapegoat Wilderness in 1972 and it now has a total of 239,936 acres. The entire wilderness is in Montana and is managed by the Rocky Mountain and Lincoln Ranger Districts (Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests) and Seeley Lake Ranger District (Lolo National Forest). The Lolo National Forest manages nearly 76,000 acres, and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest manages the other 184,000 acres.

The Scapegoat Wilderness was designated through a community effort and earned a place in history as the first citizen-initiated wilderness area in the nation. In the 1960s, community members joined together to advocate for the protection of the Lincoln Back Country, a 75,000-acre stretch of undeveloped Helena National Forest-administered lands. Eventually, the proposed designation was expanded to nearly 240,000 acres to capture the Scapegoat Mountain region. During legislative hearings regarding the designation, Tom Edwards, a member of the Lincoln Back Country Association, passionately shared: “Into this land of spiritual strength, I have been privileged to guide on horseback literally thousands of people … I have harvested a self-sustaining natural resource of the forest of vast importance. No one word will suffice to explain this resource but let us call it the ‘hush’ of the land. This hush is infinitely more valuable to me than money or my business.” Finally, on August 20, 1972, Congress passed Public Law 92-395 and Scapegoat joined the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The long northwest border of Scapegoat Wilderness is shared with Bob Marshall Wilderness and the massive limestone cliffs that dominate 9,204-foot Scapegoat Mountain are an extension of the "Bob's" Chinese Wall. Scapegoat's rugged ridge tops slope down onto alpine meadows, heavily forested hillsides, and timbered river bottoms. Fish are plentiful in the 14 lakes and 89 miles of streams. Elevations range from about 5,000 feet on the Blackfoot River to about 9,400 feet on Red Mountain. Wildlife includes wolverines, moose, deer, elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, black bears, and numerous grizzly bears.

Together, the Great Bear Wilderness, the Bob Marshall Wilderness, and the Scapegoat Wilderness form the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, an area of more than 1.5 million acres. This is the third largest wilderness complex in the lower 48 states. They are managed by three national forests - Flathead, Helena-Lewis and Clark, and Lolo, and five ranger districts - Spotted Bear, Hungry Horse, Lincoln, Rocky Mountain, and Seeley Lake.

Seeley Lake trailheads offer access to much of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex for hiking, backpacking, and horse packing. Motorized and mechanized uses are prohibited in wilderness. Visit the BMWC Page for regulations including food storage requirements. The BMWC is grizzly bear country!

Click each thumbnail photo below to enlarge the photo. Photos 1, 2, and 4 showcase the scenic beauty of the Scapegoat Wilderness with the North Fork of the Blackfoot River running through the forested, mountainous landscape. Photo 3 is Smokes Cabin Bridge. The Smokes Cabin bridge crosses the North Fork of the Blackfoot River via Hobnail Tom Trail #32 at milepost 3.1.

At a Glance