Eldridge Guard Station

Eldridge Guard Station is a primitive, rustic, log structure open year-round for recreational enjoyment. It provides access to several trails for summer hiking and biking, and winter skiing and snowmobiling. The cabin can be accessed by vehicle in warmer weather, but snow conditions may require a two mile trek on skis, snowshoes, or by snowmobile. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and they must bring several of their own amenities. The area surrounding the cabin offers many recreational opportunities, both motorized and non-motorized. In the summer, visitors can enjoy hiking and mountain biking on the nearby trails, riding 50-inch (or narrower) motorized vehicles on the motorized trails, stream fishing, or bird and wildlife watching. In the winter, there is snowmobiling, cross-country and back-country skiing, and snowshoeing. Please note that fall hunting season brings big game hunters to this area from September 1 to December 1. Eldridge Guard Station sleeps 6, with a maximum group size of 8 people for overnight use and a 7-night maximum stay per group. This is a primitive cabin with limited seasonal access. There is no electricity or potable water available, though water from the nearby creek, or snow in winter, can be filtered for use. An outhouse is located outside, behind the cabin, and a corral is available for stock. A wood stove is available for heat, a propane gas stove for cooking, and there is a small propane powered refrigerator in the cabin; please carefully read the instructions for the propane stove and refrigerator. The cabin is stocked with basic amenities: axe, shovel, bucket, 2 cots, 2 full-size futons with mattresses, table and chairs, and minimal cookware, plus a large stock pot for boiling water. It is strongly advised that renters bring their own backcountry cookware and dishes, and renters should also bring their own firewood, drinking water, flashlight or lantern, bedding, matches, extra toilet paper, garbage bags, dish soap, and other necessities. This rustic, uninsulated, high ceiling cabin can be very cold in winter, even with the wood stove burning. Firewood is provided only from October 1 to May 31, kept in the woodshed near the cabin, with additional firewood stored in the tack shed a little further away (same lock combination as the cabin); from June 1 to September 30, please bring or gather your own. Please be sure to clean the cabin and remove all trash prior to your departure. The cabin is situated between the Madison Mountain Range and the Gallatin Mountain Range at an elevation of 7,030 feet, at the edge of a meadow with Taylor Creek running across from it. This is high-population grizzly bear habitat, and the area is also home to deer, elk, moose, and other wildlife. Please respect the wildlife and always keep a safe distance, carry bear spray, and securely store food and other attractants from March 1 to December 1. West Yellowstone, Montana, home of the west gate to Yellowstone National Park, is within an hour's drive south, as are Hebgen and Earthquake lakes and the Earthquake Lake Visitor Center; Big Sky, Montana is within an hour's drive north.