Please send a quick email today to help secure Wilderness in the Northern Swan Range!
Email the Flathead Forest Plan Revision Team at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) .
Urge them to recommend Wilderness designation for all roadless lands in the Northern Swan Range in their new Forest Plan!
Thank you!
Click here for more information.
The northern Swan Range -- home to the Jewel Basin Hiking Area and Alpine Trail No. 7, is the rugged backyard and scenic backdrop of the Flathead Valley. From Inspriation Pass to Columbia Mountain, the northern Swan supports our unique way of life and contributes much to the natural beauty and economic prosperity of the entire Flathead Valley. This website is dedicated to the enjoyment and appreciation of the northern Swan Range. Now is the time to act for the future of the Swan.
Wind and snow shape the Swan Crest in winter, here south of Infinity Ridge! (Keith Hammer photos)
Sixteen Swan Rangers hiked and snowshoed the Infinity Ridge area on Saturday, April 19, with half making it to the top!
It was a mostly sunny day and the Rangers saw tracks of a big black bear and the Easter Bunny!
Infinity Ridge lies east of the Strawberry Lake Road and the unnamed 6,888' peak at its top overlooks Wildcat Lake in the Jewel Basin.
Nice weather, as always, on a Swan Ranger Saturday! (Keith Hammer photos)
Twelve Swan Rangers enjoyed a prolonged spring squall while hiking the Echo - Broken Leg Trail on Saturday, April 12, 2014!
The trail is mostly snow-free until Deer Creek, then a bit of post-holing is in order as remaining snow pack becomes intermittant.
Click here for a map of the Echo - Broken Leg Trail!
An S-curve snow bridge over North Krause Creek! (Keith Hammer photos)
Twelve Swan Rangers got both graupel and sunshine while snowshoeing in upper Krause Basin on Saturday, April 5, 2014!
They turned around where avalanche exposure commenced and saw tracks of wolverine and pine marten along the way!
The snow/rain line shows clearly on the Swan Range up river. (Bob Muth photos)
Nine Swan Rangers hiked the Swan River Trail upstream from Bigfork on what started as a rainy Saturday, March 29, 2014!
As the weather cleared, the Rangers kept wandering around until they'd hiked nearly eight miles!
Along the way they saw lots of geese, bufflehead and golden eye ducks, and heard many a varied thrush and flicker!
Sunrise up Wolf Creek Canyon on the way to the Cafe! (Keith Hammer photos)
Thirteen Swan Rangers snowshoed up to Elk Springs on the north shoulder of Broken Leg Mountain on Saturday, March 22, 2014!
It was a brief return of Winter, this first outing of Spring, with temps starting in the teens and a half foot of fresh powder higher up!
Cedar - hemlock forests in the Echo Creek headwaters! (Keith Hammer photos)
Ten Swan Rangers took a snowshoe tour of several springs that are the origins of Echo Creek on Saturday, March 15, 2014!
It's a wonderful loop on an old fireline/skid road east of Strawberry Lake Road, which offered up tracks of elk, pine marten, bobcat, and snowshoe hare!
An old network of roads in Krause Basin, snowed-in during winter and great for skiing and snowshoeing, are shown on the Swan Lake District Map.
Recent avalanches ran downslope of underlying glide cracks in Spider Bowl! (Keith Hammer photos)
Fifteen Swan Rangers did not ski the avalanche prone Spider Bowl on Saturday, March 8, instead viewing it from a distance while snowshoeing a loop over Krause Knob!
It was a beautiful sunny day to enjoy the low country as the backcountry sheds itself of recent heavy snows!
Sunny rewards following a windy, sub-zero morning! (Keith Hammer photos)
Seven Swan Rangers skied the Chateau de Swan Vieaux on a blustery Saturday morning turned sunny, March 1, 2014!
They ignored Cafe waitress' warnings, plunged headlong into "Winter Storm 2014," and survived!
An invite to the exclusive Chateau de Swan Vieaux was just the ticket for what started out as a grim looking day!