Top off your
gas tank if you are heading up the South Fork. Follow Highway 2 to the town of
Hungry Horse at mileage marker 143.4. Follow the signs to Hungry Horse Dam.
Cross the dam and follow the West Side South Fork Road. The mileage markers
start at the dam. Spotted Bear Campground, a few miles above the inlet to
Hungry Horse Lake, is 55 miles from the dam, and most of it is dirt road. If
you are pulling a trailer, plan on cruising at 35 mph. Draining the Bob
Marshall Wilderness, the South Fork is the crown jewel of northwestern Montana.
From the Spotted Bear Campground, access is by trail or plane into the
designated Wild River section. A good portion of this wilderness encompasses
the Jewell Basin Hiking Area. To reach the trailheads to the Jewell Basin, look
for Wounded Buck Road, West Fork Clayton Creek Road, Clayton Creek Road, Graves
Creek Road or Wheeler Creek Road.
Unlike the
other forks of the Flathead River, the South Fork fishery is not a migratory
fishery owing to the completion of Hungry Horse Dam in 1952. Expect to catch
cutthroats averaging 8 to 10 inches. Bull trout, although plentiful, have been
protected since 1993. One of the guides that I spoke to said that some days the
river offers many 14- to 16-inch trout, but again, access is limited. The
primary floating section that can be reached by road is from Cedar Flats River
Access to a launch access just below Spotted Bear Campground. The guides in
this country work very hard for their wages. Having guided in western Montana
all those years, the toughest launch I can think of consisted of dragging my
raft maybe 30 yards to the water. When I got out of my truck at Cedar Flats, I
kept thinking, there must be a mistake! I walked a narrow trail about 50 yards
until the trail plunged down a cliff. Standing high up on the ridge, I couldn't
even hear the water below. Later I talked to a local guide who told me he has
to completely break his raft down, and depending on the willingness of his
clients, he could count on a minimum of four trips up and down the steep trail.
From Cedar
Flats to the Spotted Bear Access point is eight miles and rated Class II water.
Above Cedar Flats is a gorge rated Class V to VI. From Spotted Bear Campground
Boat Launch to the next access, Twin Creeks, is 6.5 miles and rated Class III,
although I swear there are some Class IV spots, which is probably just a
perspective view sitting in my 10-foot, one-man drift boat.
Numerous non-fee primitive campsites may be found during the last few miles along Hungry Horse Lake. In addition to the Spotted Bear Campground, Crossover Campground can be easily found on the east side of the lake a couple of miles below Twin Creeks. When you are headed to the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, you will cross the river on the South Fork Bridge and come to a T-intersection. If you turn left, the road heads back down the lake on the eastside to the town of Hungry Horse. Crossover Campground is a few miles down this road and provides a boat launch to the lake.
Leave a comment