Note: MM=Mileage Marker. Look for the state mileage marker signs.
MM 0: Exxon Travel Plaza (Milltown) - Exit from Interstate
90 onto Highway 200.
MM 1: Access dirt pull-out.
MM 2: Marco FlatsMarco Flats is easy to miss. The access
road takes a sharp turn and drops to the river.
MM 6: Angelvine Park. A nice rest stop if you are pulling a trailer.
MM
8: A narrow gravel pullout with no turn-around area for trailers or large rigs.
Short trail to river. MM 8+ pull-over with a dropoff to the river.
MM 9: Gold Creek (Revise summer 2010)
MM 10: Blackfoot Recreation Corridor
Thanks
to the cooperative efforts of landowners and the Department of Fish, Wildlife
and Parks, a 26-mile corridor has been made available to the public. Johnsrud
Park offers camping, picnicking, swimming and an excellent take-out for
floaters who launch at Roundup or at the Nine-Mile Prairie Road campground.
Floaters warning: The section of the river from Johnsrud Park to Roundup
is interspersed with dangerous rapids. Wade fishers may follow the Blackfoot
River on an 18.2-mile dirt road that will swing around and rejoin Highway 200
at Roundup, which is the next highway crossing of the Blackfoot River above
Johnsrud Park. The road is narrow at times and very bumpy, and as such it is
not safe to pull a camping trailer. Throughout the course of this road, there
are numerous day-use access points. The two campgrounds, Ninemile Prairie and
River Bend, are best reached just short of mileage marker 27 as you cross the
bridge at Roundup. Launching a raft or drift boat at Roundup requires use of a
30-foot ramp down to the water's edge.
MM 22: Garnet Ghost Town turn-off
The
last remnants of this bustling ghost town have been preserved in its original
state of natural decay. From the highway, take the Garnet Road 11 miles. For
more information call (406) 329-3914.
MM 26.5: Roundup
Just
as you cross the bridge, you will note a 30-foot ramp for launching rafts on
this popular stretch of the Blackfoot. Most rafters take out at River Bend
campground or Whitaker Bridge, which is about 9.5 miles.
MM 31:Clearwater River
The
Clearwater River access is a park-like setting and offers good access for
anglers. Because of the river's clear water, fishing is excellent in the
spring. From this crossing the Clearwater offers a short float trip or canoe
trip to the Blackfoot. Floaters will drift under safety fence partitions. This
is a popular run for summer tubers.
Clearwater Junction:
Highway
200 intersects with Highway 83 to Seeley Lake.
MM 35: Russell Gates Campground
The
campground is off the highway on the river's edge and is a popular floating
take-out.
MM 37.9: Upsata Lake & Cottonwood Creek
MM 39: River Junction Campground and Scotty Brown Bridge
Follow
the access road a short distance to the Scotty Brown Bridge. The landowner
forbids any launching of watercraft from his property; however, he has provided
four parking spaces for wade fishers. Be sure to respect the rights of property
owners and stay below the high water mark. River Junction Campground is one of
the most beautiful unimproved campgrounds in the area and provides an
opportunity to fish both the main stem of the Blackfoot River and the North
Fork. The road to the campground is approximately nine miles, and I would not
recommend it for trailers.
MM 40: Monture Creek Campground
Ovando
A
short distance up the highway from Monture Creek Campground, the small town of
Ovando rests on the hillside overlooking the highway. A cluster of homes,
Ovando offers a small store, an inn, a trading post, a brand museum and a post
office. (On a knoll just off the highway above Ovando, stop in at Trixie's Bar
and Grill for a great hamburger.) From Ovando follow the road 3.5 miles to the
Harry Morgan Campground, which is a popular launching place for floaters. The
campground offers only a few sites, but when the river clears, you will be
hard-pressed to find a parking spot amongst the outfitter's rigs. Harry Morgan
access is a great wading access for fishing the North Fork of the Blackfoot.
Traveling another 5.5 miles up the road will take you to Brown's Lake, which is
a good fishing lake, but don't expect much shade in summer. Popular with boat fishermen
and belly-boaters, Brown's Lake is stocked with some whopper brood stock.
Stocked trout grow fast and fat in this lake. Another 1.5 miles down the road
will take you to the last floating access point, Cedar Meadows.
MM 51.1: North Fork of the Blackfoot Trailhead and
Cooper's Lake
Highway 200 from Ovando to Lincoln
Slow
winding water and lots of mud, brush and sediment characterize this section of
the river. Although it can produce some hefty browns, it generally does not
produce good habitat for rainbows and cutthroats.
Tributary
Creeks and Lakes
MM
9: Gold Creek. Follow Gold Creek
Road seven miles up the mountain to the first unimproved campsite. I do not
recommend this road or the campsite for trailers, as the actual camping spots
are off the main road, and they are rough and rutted. Surrounded by grassy
meadows, the creek is ideal for families who want to rough it, but do check for
tics in the late spring and early summer. Keep in mind that this is a "pack it
in - pack it out!" area. The area is owned by Plum Creek, and it is sad to see
how slovenly some campers have been. If you wish to access the creek lower
down, make a right turn just short of the two-mile marker. Follow the road 2.8
miles until you reach a small bridge. Park by the bridge, as the road that
follows the creek is blocked a mile up the canyon, and there is no turning
around. The canyon is excellent fishing for small cutthroats.
MM
37.9 Upsata Lake and Cottonwood
Creek: Exit on Woodsworth Road.
Turn left 1.4 miles from the highway at the Blackfoot Clearwater Game Range.
Drive one mile to the bridge on Cottonwood Creek by the fish and game house and
barn. Fish upstream or down, but be prepared to navigate through heavy brush.
The creek hosts small cuts and surprisingly hefty browns that hide in those
tough-to-fish willow overhangs.
Continuing
on Highway 200 a couple of miles up from the Cottonwood Creek access, Woodworth
Road leads to Upsata Lake. Upsata is a small, shallow lake bordered mostly by
private property in pothole country. Periodically stocked, the lake produces
fair fishing for smaller rainbows. If you have a canoe strapped on top of your
rig, this would be a good choice for some evening casting and paddling.
Woodsworth Road turns to the left towards Kozy Corner and then continues to
Highway 83 near Salmon Lake.
MM
40: Monture Creek Campground is a small campground at the bottom of a ravine
just off Highway 200. The campground is mowed, and the campsites sit on the
water's edge surrounded by trees and wild roses. Monture Creek is usually fast
and clear in the early summer and provides fair fishing down to the mouth of
the Blackfoot River for spawning stragglers. By mid-summer the creek warms up
and the trout look for small pools to hide in. Look for the access road further
down the highway for the 12-mile drive to the headwaters. Although the creek
fishes well for small fry, be
prepared to scramble and climb through brush and downed timber in its upper
reaches.
MM
51.1 North Fork of the Blackfoot
and Cooper's Lake. Exit onto
Kleinschmidt Road and follow the signs 11 miles to the trailhead. The North
Fork of the Blackfoot is a popular trailhead for backcountry horsemen and fly
fishers. For years I never found the time to actually hike back into the
wilderness and fish the North Fork. On July 5, 1998, I finally hiked the trail.
Following the wettest June on record, I looked down the canyon at the
turquoise, silted river and inwardly prejudged the fishing I would have. Much
to my surprise, in a 200-yard section in a steep canyon, I picked up six
cutthroats, one of which was a fat 16-incher. Elderly fishers may want to pass
up the North Fork, as it is a tough hike down the narrow canyon to the water.
During high water, you have to scramble up the canyon wall to a bench every 100
yards when it becomes impassable. At age 53, I was huffing and puffing, and I
was damn glad that I could still huff and puff for fat westslope cutthroats.
The mountainsides look like the back of a porcupine. Gray, burnt-out lodgepole
trees blanket the entire area from the 1988 Canyon Creek Fire that destroyed
247,600 acres before it was contained.
Cooper's
Lake is a short distance from the trailhead. Follow Whitetail Ranch Road to the
lake. The lake is a fairly large lake surrounded by cottages. Public access is
limited to a few tent sites and a boat launch. Fishing is only fair.
