This district to the east of Canyon Ferry Lake and the town of Townsend within portions of Helena National Forest has thousands of acres of public land access to mountain goat areas.

Mature billies have horns ranging from 8” to over 9” with lots of mass. Look for billies feeding on saddles, bedding on isolated cliffs and visiting mineral licks. Nannies tend to be in nursery bands near the best forage on the mountain. Mountain goats live in areas that are very hard to access, be in excellent shape before considering this hunt.

The rugged Big Belt Mountains sit along the county line separating Meagher and Broadwater Counties. Mount Edith reaches 9,500 feet with a number of other peaks above 8,000 feet. Steep canyons, boulder fields and dense forested slopes make cross country travel and finding open areas to spot and stalk mountain goats challenging.

Large stands of spruce, fir, ponderosa and lodgepole pine cover the entire mountain range. Below peaks are areas of wildflowers, moss and lichens. Small grassy meadows are scattered within the forested slopes. Foothills have mountain shrubs, areas of sagebrush, stands of aspen and ponderosa pine. The valleys have hay fields, open rangelands with cottonwoods and willows lining creek bottoms.

Good National Forest access is provided by a system of Forest Service and county roads. Montana Route 284 on the east side of Canyon Ferry Lake forms the western boundary and U.S. Highway 12 sits along the southern edge. North Fork Deep Creek Road connects to U. S. Highway 12 and allows travel into the southern portion of the Big Belts. Confederate Gulch travels across the Big Belts in the northern end of the unit.

Helena National Forest provides developed campgrounds that get heavy use from surrounding communities. Dispersed camping is allowed within the National Forest. Townsend and White Sulfur Springs are small communities to offer a limited selection of motels, cafés and restaurants, medical care and gas and diesel. Helena has a wide variety of motels and hotels, a regional medical facility, a regional airport and 24/7 gas and diesel fuel.