Montana's Wilderness Areas

Lower Aero Lake in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, near Cooke City.

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness

Mystic Lake seen from Froze to Death Plateau in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Two hikers make their way across Froze to Death Plateau in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

The Bear's Tooth in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness can be seen from the Beartooth Highway.

Red Rock Lakes Wilderness sits inside Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Montana near Lima.

Steamboat Ridge seen from Dearborn Trail. Under the proposed Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, Steamboat Mountain would be added to the Scapegoat Wilderness.

Scapegoat Mountain in the Scapegoat Wilderness Area.

Scapegoat Mountain in the Scapegoat Wilderness Area.

Sugarloaf Mountain in the Scapegoat Wilderness.

Bill Cunningham of Choteau fishes the South Fork of the Flathead River inside the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows through the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows under a pack bridge in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows through the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

A tent sits on the banks of the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Big Salmon Creek flows into the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

The last of the evening sun illuminates a hillside in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

A swinging bridge offers access across Rock Creek into the Welcome Creek Wilderness Area.

Most of the hillsides in the Welcome Creek Wilderness Area are forested.

Wanless Lake is one of many high mountain lakes in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.

Snowshoe Peak, at 8,738 feet, is the tallest mountain in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area.

A mountain peak in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.

A caterpillar sits on the leaf of a bluebell in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.

The sign marking the boundary to the Lee Metcalf Wilderness on the Dudley Creek Trail is mostly gone.

The Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area

The Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area

Wildflowers bloom in the the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

Wildflowers bloom in the the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

Indian paintbrush blooms in the the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

Indian paintbrush blooms in the the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

A mountain meadow in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area.

In wilderness areas crosscut saws are used to clear downed trees, rather than chainsaws.

The 1.3 million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area is characterized by sharp canyons and barren peaks.

Volunteers with the Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation work to clear downed trees from a trail in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area.

Big Creek Lake is one example of the many scenic lakes in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area.

This is a view of the southern portion of the Chinese Wall in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area taken from the base of Cliff Mountain.

Trilobite Lakes in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

A field of cottongrass grows in the Big River Meadows of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Bill Cunningham discusses Bob Marshall's legacy. Marshall worked to designate the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

Pentagon Mountain is reflected in Dean Lake in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area

Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows through the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Chokecherries grow in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area.

Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area

Gates of the Mountains Wilderness Area

UL Bend Wilderness Area

A creek flows through the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows under a pack bridge in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The South Fork of the Flathead River flows under a pack bridge in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The Hole in the Wall in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Deer graze along the South Fork of the Flathead in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Wildflowers bloom in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Big Salmon Creek flows into the South Fork of the Flathead in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

The South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

Rafters float down the South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

The South Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area.

Campers prepare dinner in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.