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Scenic Driving Tours
Lemhi Pass
Lemhi Pass, in the Beaverhead Mountains of the Bitterroot Range and along the Continental Divide, is the site where, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition first saw the headwaters of the Columbia River, which flow to the Pacific Ocean. It's here that the expedition crossed what was then the western boundary of the United States. Come take a Tour of Lemhi Pass and view the Interpretive Signs Along the Way.
Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway
The Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway cuts through the middle of the Pioneer Mountains in Southwest Montana's Beaverhead County. The route goes from the town of Wise River into the historic valley formed by Grasshopper Creek. Join us for a Tour of the Pioneer Mountains Scenic Byway.
Designated a Scenic Byway January 10, 1989, it extends south from State Highway 43 at Wise River, Montana, to State Highway 278, between Dillon and Jackson. Interpretive sites along the Scenic Byway tell travelers about the natural scenes and the history of the Pioneer Mountains. Travel along the byway will take you by nine Forest Service campgrounds. The area offers a wide array of hiking and riding trails. Driving north to south, you first come to Wise River, a ranching community along the Big Hole River. Fishermen arrive seasonally to try their skill on the Big Hole’s blue-ribbon trout fishery. On the edge of Wise River, the byway takes you south, through the Wise River valley. In this scenic valley, fields of sagebrush on the high ground give way to willows on the river bottoms. Lodgepole pine and Douglas fir cover the adjacent hillsides. You can catch on occasional glimpse of moose, elk, mule deer, black bear, coyotes and beaver. Early ranchers, miners and trappers used this northern section of the road.
As the valley narrows, you can see the old railroad bed of the Montana Southern Railway, the last narrow-gauge railroad built in the United States. The railroad served the Elkhorn mine, one of the largest ore-mill structures in the United States, and the town of Coolidge that grew up around the mill. Elkhorn and Coolidge offer an interesting side trip Learn more about the Pioneer Mountains National Scenic Byway.
