Camas Creek, Big Belt Mountains, Montana

The Camas Creek Roadless Area, Big Belt Mountain Range, Montana. Photo by Phil Knight

The Camas Creek Roadless Area is approximately 28 air miles from Helena and 15 miles from Townsend. This roadless area is about seven miles long and nine miles wide. Elevations within the Camas Creek Roadless Area range from 5,000 feet to 8,900 feet at the top of Boulder Baldy Mountain. Most of the area is forested with lodepole pine, Douglas fir, and some spruce. The dominant under-story vegetation is rough fescue and idaho fescue.

The Camas Creek Roadless Area contains approximately 19,738 acres. There are several parcels of private land within this roadless area. They include land owned by Hidden Hollow Ranch Company, Lester Fields, and Rodger and Rose Rader. Several acres of the land owned by Rodger and Rose Rader and Hidden Hollow Ranch Company have been logged. There are approximately 20.9 miles of motorized routes on Forest lands and 16.4 miles of motorized routes on private land within the area.

The core portion of this roadless area is closed yearlong to motorized use and includes the following popular recreation areas: Boulder Lakes, Camas Lakes, and Boulder Baldy Mountain. The rest of the roadless area is closed to motorized vehicles from October 15 to May 15.

Recreational activities here include hiking, backpacking, fishing, horseback riding, hunting, trapping, backcountry skiing and snowshoeing.

This roadless area posesses many special features. Its high mountain peaks are located in a heavily-glaciated geologic landform that is fairly unique to the mountain range. The steep granitic rock formation stand out as attractions to many backcountry enthusiasts. Boulder Lakes and Camas Lakes are popular destination points, located in glacial cirques on Boulder Baldy and Boulder Mountain. The lakes maintain a cutthroat and brook trout fishery popular with anglers.

NFN Last Refuge Campaign
c/o NFN Yellowstone
Phil Knight
POB 6151
Bozeman, MT 59771
Ph: (406) 586-3885
pknight@wildrockies.org