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One of the jewels of the Northern Rockies, the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness, managed by the Forest Service, encompasses 158,615 acres in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Bitterroot national forests. The Anaconda Pintler Wilderness straddles the Continental Divide along the crest of the Anaconda Range in southwestern Montana, positioned between the Bitterroot Valley to the northwest and the Big Hole Valley to the south. This Wilderness takes its name from the Anaconda Range and Charles Ellsworth Pintler, a Big Hole Valley settler of the late 1800s. Streams and rivers drain to the Bitterroot and Big Hole rivers as well as Rock Creek. While the Anaconda Range's permanent snowfields today are modest, the Wilderness protects a spectacular array of glacially carved landforms. These include tarn-pocked cirques, huge U-shaped valleys, knife-edged ridges (arêtes), and moraines. Elevations stretch from 5,100 feet along the canyon bottoms to 10,893 feet at West Goat Peak (one of several 10,000-plus-footers in the Wilderness). Geologically, the Anacondas include Precambrian and Paleozoic limestones, sandstones, and other sedimentary layers struck with igneous intrusions.
Canyon bottoms support riparian forests and willow thickets, while vegetation on the mountain slopes ranges from sagebrush in the foothills through spruce-fir and pine forests to subalpine communities of quaking aspen, whitebark pine, and alpine larch. Along the high Divide, bare rock, tundra, and snowfields reign. Native wildlife includes many of the large mammals indigenous to the Rockies at the time of Euro-American settlement, among them mule deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, wolverine, gray wolf, puma, black bear, and the odd grizzly bear.
The Anaconda Pintler Wilderness offers endless opportunities for outdoor recreation. U.S. Highway 93 and Montana Highways 38, 1, and 43 provide access to numerous trails. A 45-mile-long portion of the Continental Divide Trail cleaves the heart of the Wilderness. Backpackers should practice leave-no-trace ethics among the alpine lakes, which are sensitive to overuse. Mountaineering opportunities abound on the high peaks.
Maps
Digital and paper maps are critical tools for wilderness visitors. Online maps can help you plan and prepare for your visit ahead of time. You can also carry digital maps with you on your GPS unit or other handheld GPS device. Having a paper map with you in the backcountry, as well as solid orienteering skills, however, ensures that you can still route-find in the event that your electronic device fails.
Online Maps
Printed Maps
Rules & Regulations
Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport is generally prohibited in all wilderness areas.
This includes the use of motor vehicles, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters.
Wilderness-Specific Regulations
Learn more about
why regulations may be necessary in wilderness.
Applicable Wilderness Law(s)
Want to Volunteer for Wilderness?
People who volunteer their time to steward our wilderness areas are an essential part of wilderness management. Contact the following groups to inquire about volunteer opportunities. Groups are listed alphabetically by the state(s) in which the wilderness is located.