UL Bend Wilderness

Approximately 125 miles from the Fort Peck Dam you'll find the UL Bend Wilderness, north of a tight U-shaped bend in the Missouri River. Situated within the Charles M. Russell and UL Bend National Wildlife Refuges, the area is characterized by breaks — badlands — steep-sided forested coulees, prairie grasslands, cottonwood river bottoms, and an abundance of wildlife: elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, Canada geese, grouse, and a wide variety of raptors. Prairie dogs have established "towns" here, complex systems of interconnected burrows that cover thousands of acres. Tyrannosaurus rex once hunted these grounds, and in many areas little has changed since those forgotten days. The Wilderness is divided into four units: three small northern units and the large southern unit that borders the river. It is almost entirely open grassland and sagebrush, without water and exposed to the whimsy of prairie winds, and some of its remotest portions are seldom seen and virtually unexplored. There are no maintained trails, but hiking and camping are unrestricted, scenic, and rugged. Horses, hunting, and fishing in season are allowed. Many paddlers on the Missouri continue down past the Wilderness on placid waters, though high winds may make open water dangerous — you'll be paddling in the long-gone wake of Lewis and Clark. The area is in Montana, is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and was designated in 1976.