Description/Basic Information
Encompassing almost the entire boundary between Montana and Idaho, the southern half forming part of the continental divide, the Selway-Bitterroot mountains are some of the most spectacular and rugged peaks in the United States. Their name is derived from the Montana state flower, the small pink bitterroot flower. First explored by Lewis and Clark after the Louisiana Purchase, the mountains were once thought to be impenetrable, which has helped to keep the area free from commercial exploitation to this day.
GEOGRAPHY: The Bitterroot Mountains form a rugged, glacier-carved border between Idaho and Montana. On both sides of this border is the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the third largest wilderness in the Lower 48. Only the 600 foot wide Nez Perce Trail (the Magruder Corridor), an unimproved dirt road, separates the Selway-Bitterroot from the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Except for the high crest of the Bitterroot Mountains, the area is dominated by ridges broken with raw granite peaks. Below the ridges are deep canyons covered with thick coniferous forest. Hidden low valleys are rich with old-growth cedar, fir, and spruce, with Ponderosa Pine dominating open grassy slopes along the rivers.
Mostly within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the wild Selway River rushes out of the mountains of Idaho and is joined by flows from the Moose Creek drainage and lower down the Lochsa River. The Selway is a premier whitewater river offering a wild, remote, and self-reliant
river experience.
The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness was designated as a wilderness area by Congress in 1964, and contains a total of 1,340,587 acres. Idaho contains approximately 1,089,144 acres, while Montana contains approximately 251,443 acres. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is managed by the Forest Service, and is bordered by the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south (separated by the Magruder Corridor and Highway 12).
GEOGRAPHY: The Bitterroot Mountains form a rugged, glacier-carved border between Idaho and Montana. On both sides of this border is the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the third largest wilderness in the Lower 48. Only the 600 foot wide Nez Perce Trail (the Magruder Corridor), an unimproved dirt road, separates the Selway-Bitterroot from the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Except for the high crest of the Bitterroot Mountains, the area is dominated by ridges broken with raw granite peaks. Below the ridges are deep canyons covered with thick coniferous forest. Hidden low valleys are rich with old-growth cedar, fir, and spruce, with Ponderosa Pine dominating open grassy slopes along the rivers.
Mostly within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the wild Selway River rushes out of the mountains of Idaho and is joined by flows from the Moose Creek drainage and lower down the Lochsa River. The Selway is a premier whitewater river offering a wild, remote, and self-reliant
river experience.
The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness was designated as a wilderness area by Congress in 1964, and contains a total of 1,340,587 acres. Idaho contains approximately 1,089,144 acres, while Montana contains approximately 251,443 acres. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is managed by the Forest Service, and is bordered by the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness to the south (separated by the Magruder Corridor and Highway 12).