Check out the Missouri River Monument Map
For The Journal (Chinook, Montana Paper)
Missouri River Monument Map
By Robert Lucke
 One of the great assets that Chinook has is the Blaine County Museum. Its close ties to the Bear Paw Battleground are incredible. Not only that. but to go through the Wildlife Museum is a breathtaking exercise in just what a community can do if it bands together.
All this translates into tourist dollars, which are as good for a community as most all other kinds of economy put together. Imagine this. People come, are awestruck. want to stay more days to explore what they see, they drop a bundle of green while here and then they go home, leaving behind in the very same pristine condition they found. most everything they saw.
It is like having hunting season minus the harvest of animals and guns twelve months a year!
There is only one thing wrong with this picture. Chinook and other towns around the vicinity continuously sell themselves short in the tourism department.
What prompted my thinking about this is that a new map just came out of hikes in the Missouri River Monument site.
The map lists Fort Benton, Winifred. Big Sandy, Havre, Chinook and Hays as the gateway to this incredible piece of land that stretches on forever in the south portions of Blaine and Chouteau Counties.
This is a land of immense forests that grow with very little water, some of the grandest breaks ever seen on the Missouri and Cow Creek as well, five or six mountain ranges seen in the distance from most all views and vistas. It takes little imagination to imagine the immense buffalo herds roaming around this huge area. Nor does it take much imagination to think of the shock and awe that Lewis and Clark must have felt, this land belittles people to such a degree. No wonder each time they climbed to the top of a break ridge, they hoped they had gotten to the Rockies when they were really just looking at the Little Rockies and the Bear Paws.
The wildlife seen there today, including elk and rams is simply great!
 Chinook and the Bear Paw Battlefield have a special tie to the map in that the Nez Perce National Historic Trail runs right though the map and is clearly seen.
There is Cow Island, finally shown with roads that can access it without trying to find a myriad of county maps that all too often do not distinguish between private and county roads, and difficulty of roads to travel with autos. This map does that.
But the most important concept on the map is that by listing Chinook and Hays as gateways to this land that is a good way to bring tourists into the area.
A fellow was telling me the other day that he has guided people through that area for years and that folks would be amazed
at the amount of money to be made during the summer showing people what's what in this area.
Whether it be the historic old Cable place, Kid Curry's hideout, the Ruby Gulch Mining Company Power Plant or Cow Island itself, this is history that is virtually untouched since the first people came onto this beautiful land.
How important is the area? 1 can tell you what I think. In its own way it is as important as Glacier National Park. It is as beautiful, as pristine and as breathtaking as any part of Montana ever was.
This land is the land of dreams. It only needs to be shown and admired by many - by those same people who will eat in our restaurants and stay in our motels both going and coming to the area.
This new map, put out by the Friends of The Missouri Breaks Monument is a map of roads and, incredibly some ten specific hikes, the names of which read like a litany of what's what in that magic area. Bullwhacker/Coal Mine Coulee, Lower Bullwhacker, Cable Homestead, Left Coulee/Cow Creek, Gist River Homestead, AI's Coulee, Cow Island/Power Plant with Ferry Crossing, Nez Perce Trail/Cow Island/ Woodhawk Bottom/Gus Nelson Cabin, Hagadone Homestead/Dog Creek, Decision Point Interpretive Trail/Birding trail.
I have written before of my experience going to the bluffs above Cow Island in 1957 with Al Lucke, Emil DonTigny and a notable group of western historians that included Merrill Burlingame, Vern Dusenberry and Mrs. James Willard Schultz. We put up a sign that DonTigny had created out of juni-per stating that this bluff was the Jim Kipp Lookout.
I don't know if the sign is still there or not. Probably not. But the amazing thing about it is that absolutely nothing has changed in that time from then to now. That is a land unchanged and that is but a small part of the magic of the place.
Looks to me that this place could really put gateway towns on the map. Combine that with Chinook's museums and the Bear Paw Battle Field and you really have something. Or, in the case of Hays, combine the gateway to this area with Mission Canyon and you have two of the great natural wonders of Montana right in your back and front yard!
Our only problem is that unlike Glacier and Yellowstone, we don't know a lot about marketing ourselves and continually through the years we sell ourselves too short.
When we stop doing that we will see a lot more green because people really want to see the areas we are the keepers of.
l know this is getting too long but one more point. Big Sandy, Havre and Chinook are the main gates (really only gates) of the beautiful Bear Paw Mountains as well. Enough said!
See Big Sandy "The Mountaineer" Article Conservation Land Foundation
More information about Nez Perce TrailNez Perce National Historical Park
Now Available
Friends Recreational Hiking Map and Guide
The Friends of the Missouri Breaks National Monument has produced a colorful recreational hiking map and guide. This map is available free to the public. A PDF file on this web site will also offer the map. Tthe map may be picked up at the Friends office in Lewistown, BLM office in Great Falls, National Monument Interpretive Center in Fort Benton, BLM State Office in Billings, Billings Airport, MWA office in Great Falls and other location around Central Montana.
Friends hiking map front side Friends Hiking Map Front Side.
Friends hiking map back sideFriends Hiking Map Back Side
Canoeing the Upper Missouri River Breaks
Canoeing the Upper Missouri River is probably the most popular
way to explore theUMRBNM. The river is classified as a CLASS ONE
canoe trip, meaning that there are no rapids. Canoeing the Upper
Missouri is similar to traveling on a lake, but with a 3 mph
current to help you along. The scenery is  spectacular, and there
are abundant opportunities for wildlife sightings, off river
hiking, and camping in the shade of a riversidecottonwood forest.
This is a wilderness canoe trip, that requires anywhere from 2-7
nights camping,and good preparation is essential, along with
continued vigilance for safety. The following links will help you
plan a canoe trip.
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U.S
Bureau of Land Management - this is the website for BLM, the
managing agency for the river. Their website offers good advice
for paddlers who are planning a trip.
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A list of outfitters is available from the BLM and the Friends wildmissouri@midriver.com can provide recommendations and welcome inquiries.
Missouri Breaks Back Country Byway
The Missouri Breaks Back Country Byway was designated in 1993.
The Byway has over 75 miles of gravel and unimproved roads that
traverse portions of the Missouri River Breaks and lead the to
scenic overlooks of the UMNSWR. Opportunities for mountain biking
exist on the byway, and from the byway cyclists can take off onto
spur roads or cross country. Click here for more information.
 Hiking
There are no established trails in the monument, so hiking is
done either cross-country, or on roads. But hikers should not let
the word "road" mislead them - throughout the monument,
unfortunately, there are networks of unauthorized roads -
typically created by all-terrain vehicles that can offer direct
routes along ridgetops and valley bottoms. Wildlife trails also
offer an interesting way to explore on foot. Friends of the
Missouri Breaks Monument is urging BLM to close these unofficial
"roads" to continued motorized use.
Many hikes take off from the river campsites that are used by
canoe parties. Among these are hikes to Neat Coulee (from Eagle
Creek Camp), Hole-in-the-Wall (from Hole-in-the-Wall Camp), Lewis
and Clark Overlook (from Bullwhacker Camp), Hagadone Homestead
(from McKeever Rapids Camp), Moonscape and Woodhawk Coulee (from
Lower Woodhawk Camp), and Brown Sandstone Ridge (from McGarry Bar
Camp), to name a few.
Exploring Historic Sites
The monument is steeped in history, and many historic sites
exist, ranging from tipi rings associated with Native American
encampments, to Lewis and Clark campsites, steamboat landings, fur
trade posts and, and still-standing homestead buildings (many from
the 1910 - 1920 period). The most popular and easy-to-reach are
accessible to canoeists from the river. There are three resources
available for learning about the historic sites:
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BLM
Website that provides a brief overview of the river's history
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Montana's Wild and Scenic Upper Missouri River a 250 page guidebook for
the river, available commercially.
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"Upper Missouri
River Breaks National Monument: The Wild and Scenic
Missouri", by Rick Graetz, available from many shops or
online booksellers. This book is a fine pictorial work on the
monument.
 Wildlife
& Hunting
in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
The Upper
Missouri River Breaks National Monument is home to populations
of game and non-game species. Hunters harvest birds, mule
deer, elk, and antelope here during the Montana big game
hunting season, using both rifle and bow. Hunters are strong
supporters of the monument, and advocate for management
policies that improve and conserve habitat. .... Learn
more about hunting in the Breaks
Geology
of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument
The geology of
the Upper Missouri River is spectacularly exposed due to the
combination of arid climate and downcutting by the river. Of particular note are the White Cliffs, composed of the Eagle
Sandstone, and the Badlands, composed primarily of the Judith
River Formation. ... More ...
Shared Stories
Follow the links below to read accounts of recreational adventures in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument:
Larry Copenhaver's spring Turkey hunt
Dyrck Van Hyning on winter camping in the Bullwhacker
Dave M's canoe trip
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