Scapegoat Wilderness

The Scapegoat Wilderness is part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, in northwestern Montana on both sides of the Continental Divide. The complex includes three Wilderness areas — the Great Bear, the Scapegoat and the Bob Marshall — and together they make up more than 1.5 million acres, the third largest such area in the lower 48 states. Grizzly bear, lynx, wolverine, deer, elk, gray wolf, moose, black bear, mountain lion, mountain goat and mountain sheep roam these rugged ridge tops, gently sloping alpine meadows, thickly forested river bottoms and open grass parks, and over 1,700 miles of trail cross the continuous landscape. The Scapegoat was designated in 1972 at 239,936 acres following a grassroots community effort, an early example of a citizen-initiated Wilderness area. Its acreage is split between the Helena-Lewis and Clark and Lolo National Forests, and it contains approximately 320 miles of system trail. The Wilderness is dominated by the massive limestone cliffs of 9,204-foot Scapegoat Mountain, which extends south from the Bob Marshall's Chinese Wall. Elevations range from 5,000 feet on the North Fork of the Blackfoot River to 9,400 feet on Red Mountain, the highest peak in the Complex. It runs approximately 32 miles long and from four to 24 miles wide, and takes in the headwaters of the Dearborn River, the South Fork of the Sun River and Landers Fork of the Blackfoot on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, and the North Fork of the Blackfoot on the Lolo.