Smith Creek Trail #29

OVERVIEW:  This trail starts with just over 5 miles of steady climbing in wooded or burned areas which can't be counted on for water access most of the year. Most of this trail works its way up and around the side of a single mountain. After about 5 miles, you finally wrap around that mountain and reach the top of the trail as you come up on Smith Pass. At this point, the terrain changes. You are no longer in forest but skirting some high mountain meadows. This is quite lovely, with beautiful views, lots of water and wildflowers. (There are some good camping and horse camping areas here.) Shortly after this, you reach Smith Pass, which is a very narrow, shear path around the mountain's edge, and then the trail descends rapidly towards two lakes with meadows for camping and fish for fishing. You may continue on this trail to reach another pass shortly after the lakes, where you will find wonderful views and connect to many of the most popular trails of the Northwestern side of the Bob Marshal. However, when we took this trail in Late July of 2018, we were turned back by snow that was impassable to horses before reaching the lakes, and ended up camping in some of the high mountain meadows just before the boundary to the Bob Marshal Wilderness. No regrets - it was a great trip, even if we did have to revise it on the fly!
DIRECTIONS TO TRAIL HEAD: 
  1. From Seeley Lake, take highway 83 about 27 miles north to Condon, Montana.
  2. Just before the Condon Air Strip, and just as you reach Condon, turn right onto Falls Creek Rd.
  3. Follow Falls Creek Rd. for about 3 1/4 miles. You will pass two large intersections with other roads and at each you stay to the Left to remain on Falls Creek Rd. Falls Creek Rd. ends at a T with Buerger Rd.
  4. Turn Right onto Buerger Rd. Follow Buerger Rd. for about 1 1/2 miles to the Trailhead.
  5. Just before the bridge over Smith Creek is the trailhead with some room for car parking. Continue over the bridge and on about 1/4 mile to where road ends at a trailer-friendly parking area with good camping and staging for horse packers with trailers.

BEFORE GOING TO ANY WILDERNESS AREA, CALL THE APPROPRIATE FOREST SERVICE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRAIL YOU PLAN TO TAKE:  Spotted Bear Ranger District 406-758-5376.