USFS · Montana, Idaho

Bitterroot National Forest

Bitterroot National Forest comprises 1.587 million acres (6,423 km2) in west-central Montana and eastern Idaho of the United States. It is located primarily in Ravalli County, Montana, but also has acreage in Idaho County, Idaho (29.24%), and Missoula County, Montana (0.49%).

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.7 million acresUSFSMTID54 campgrounds within 10 mi109 Forest Service sites361 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
4fires
active
North Fork Lost Horse · 16 mi from the center · 118 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesMontana, Idaho
Size1.7 million acres (Forest Service administrative boundary (gis_acres))
Forest Service code0103, region 01
Center point45.9317, -114.2965
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Bitterroot National Forest20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.08 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.87 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.85 inches of precipitationApril: 1.04 inches of precipitationMay: 1.60 inches of precipitationJune: 2.09 inches of precipitationJuly: 1.14 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.90 inches of precipitationSeptember: 1.23 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.50 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.55 inches of precipitationDecember: 1.26 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 26.5°F averageFebruary: 29.5°F averageMarch: 37.1°F averageApril: 42.5°F averageMay: 51.5°F averageJune: 58.0°F averageJuly: 65.7°F averageAugust: 64.1°F averageSeptember: 56.4°F averageOctober: 44.8°F averageNovember: 33.2°F averageDecember: 25.7°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Darby, 9 miles from the center point at 3,880 feet, station USC00242221 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 15 inches a year. The station sits about 2,600 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

27 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 27 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Alta Campground
Reservable14 sites
FS · Inside
Black Bear Campground
First-come6 sites
FS · Inside
East Fork Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Fales Flat Campground
Reservable3 sites
FS · Inside
Gird Point
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Horse Heaven Cabin
Reservable1 site
FS · Inside
Indian Trees Campground
Reservable15 sites
FS · Inside
Jennings Camp
First-come4 sites
Show 4 more

42 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 109

The Forest Service lists 109 recreation sites in this forest, among them 49 trailheads, 21 campgrounds, 8 cabins, 4 backpackings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 49 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 361 named trails in this forest, 1,799 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Bitterroot-Rock Creek Divide ↗84
East Moose Creek ↗36.3
Nez Perce Indian Trail ↗34.7
Snow Trail 75 ↗30.8
Lost Horse ↗25.5
Continental Divide NST ↗24.7
Whitecap Creek ↗24.6
Shoup-Elk City ↗22.7
Dwyer-Smith ↗21.5
Selway River - Fcronr ↗20.1

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas, refreshed September 18, 2026. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 361 trails in Bitterroot National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-09-18
  • Wildfire
    North Fork Lost Horse

    16 mi from the center point · 118 acres · 70% contained

  • Wildfire
    Bear Gulch

    22 mi from the center point · 10 acres

  • Wildfire
    Nature Grove

    24 mi from the center point · 1,422 acres · 0% contained

  • Wildfire
    Black Bear

    25 mi from the center point · 2,126 acres · 80% contained

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Battlefield · 13 mi
Big Hole National Battlefield
National Register listings within 15 miles · 153 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Bitterroot National Forest?

1.7 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Bitterroot National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Bitterroot National Forest in?

The boundary crosses Montana and Idaho.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Bitterroot National Forest?

27 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Alta Campground, Black Bear Campground and East Fork Cabin. 54 in all are within ten miles. Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites; check the forest page for closures.

Source: Where to camp

Where are the trailheads in Bitterroot National Forest?

The Forest Service lists 109 recreation sites here, including 49 trailheads, 21 campground campgrounds and 8 cabin rentalss. Each one links to its Forest Service page.

Source: Trailheads and sites

How do I get to Bitterroot National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 45.932, -114.296. Big Hole National Battlefield is 13 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Bitterroot National Forest right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-09-18, the nearest North Fork Lost Horse at 16 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

How dark is the night sky at Bitterroot National Forest?

NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 14 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.

Source: NASA Black Marble

Which national parks are near Bitterroot National Forest?

Big Hole National Battlefield (13 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Bitterroot National Forest?

153 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Alta Ranger Station and El Capitan Lodge.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
  • Description: Bitterroot National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.