National and State Parks, Monuments, and Forests

Montana has two main national parks and two main national monuments. Glacier National Park covers about 1,000,000 acres in northern Montana. The portion of Yellowstone National Park that lies in southern Montana includes three of the park’s five entrances. Big Hole Battlefield National Monument covers 200 acres near Hamilton. Custer Battlefield National Monument covers 765 acres about 15 miles south of Hardin. Each national park and monument has many articles you can find describing them in detail.

Montana has over ten national forests that cover about 20,000,000 acres in the west and south. The larges are Beaverhead, Flathead, and Lolo. These, and Gallatin, Kootenai, and Lewis and Clark forests, cover more than 2,000,000 acres each. Other national forests are Bitterroot, Custer, Deerlodge, Helena, and Kaniksu.

Montana has over 18 state parks and monuments and a number of state forest. Four of the state parks, Hell Creek, Medicine Rocks, Rock Creek, and Makoshika, lie in eastern Montana. The 14 state parks and monuments in western Montana are principally recreational areas. They are Bannack State Monument, near Dillion; Bridger Mountain, near Bozeman; Canyon Ferry, near Helena; Flathead Lake and Yellow Bay, both near Polson; Fort Owen State Monument, at Stevensville; Hooper, near Lincoln; Lewis and Clark Cavern, near Whitehall; Lone Pine, Bitterroot Lake, and West Shore, all near Kalispell; Missouri River Headwaters State Monument, near Three Forks; Tiber Dam, near Chester; and Whitefish Lake, at Whitefish. The parks range from 15 acres to about 10,000 acres.

The seven state forests cover more than 200,000 acres. Stillwater State Forest, the larges, covers some 90,000 acres near Stillwater. The other state forests are Clearwater, Coal, Lincoln, Sula, Swan River, and Thompson River.