Trails and Maps
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Sam Billings Campground/ Boulder Creek Trail
Rare Big Pines
Giant ponderosa pine trees
There are few places left in western Montana where you can see these trees. This campground is one of them, and accessible too.
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Field Notes
Drumming of pileated woodpeckers and scents of vanilla waft from big pines, where brown creepers nest under peeling ponderosa pine bark. Moose tracks etch the mud by the spruce-lined creek. Butterflies - blues, swallowtails, and admirals - crowd sunny openings near Boulder Creek. At night, a saw-whet owl hoots from a high limb above the campground.
Back to TopHabitat Link
Old-growth ponderosas support pileated woodpeckers and brown creepers that need large-diameter trees for nesting. The adjacent Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness offers connections from pines to wild country for elusive wildlife like fishers and wolverines.
Back to TopCultural Link
The campground name honors forester Sam Billings, who saw that the big pines here should be left for the people to enjoy.
Back to TopViewing Tip
Three-foot diameter pines are scattered in the campground. It's also worth a hike 4.5 miles up Boulder Creek trail to the falls. The trail gently ascends through big pines, fir and spruce with streamside understory of western yew, Oregon grape and kinnikinnick. Moose are common. Watch for pikas and marmots in talus slopes.
Back to TopHelpful Hint
Moose are big and can be aggressive toward dogs. Always keep a dog on a leash. If you see a moose, enjoy watching from a distance. Don't approach.
Back to TopGetting There
From the junction of Highway 93 and the West Fork Road, drive 13 miles on the paved West Fork Road. Turn north at the sign to the Sam Billings Memorial Campground. Drive 1 mile to campground and a few hundred yards past to the trailhead.
Back to TopContact
Bitterroot National Forest, West Fork Ranger District, 6735 W. Fork Rd., Darby, Montana 59829; (406)821-3269
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