Area Bordering Glacier National Park

National Forests and Wilderness Areas

The Flathead National Forest extends 120 miles south of the US/Canadian border and totals 2.3 million acres of glacier-sculpted forest bordering Glacier National Park.  A million acres of the forest is designated as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System comprising the Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Mission Mountain Wilderness).  The forest also plays host to the Flathead Wild and Scenic river, Jewel Basin Hiking Area and Coram Experimental Forest.  Recreational facilities are available throughout the Flathead National Forest which is mostly open to motorised vehicles in all but the above protected areas.

Hungry Horse Dam

The Hungry Horse dam is located 15 miles south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park and provides power and flood control to the local area.  It is currently the tenth highest dam in the US but was the second highest upon its construction in 1953 and remains the highest spillway of its type throughout the world.  The reservoir it creates is fed by the South Fork of the Flathead River and is 34 miles long providing recreational facilities for fishing, boating, water skiing and swimming. 

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