The Anaconda Pintler Wilderness is a 158,516-acre wilderness comprised of rugged mountains saddling the Continental Divide west of Butte, Montana. The CDT stretches for 45-miles along the length of Anaconda Range meandering between bald peaks, glacial lakes and world-class trout streams. As with most wilderness areas, access is limited but your reward for finding the trailhead in this remote corner of Montana is unmatched solitude and uninterrupted views of the Big Hole Valley, northern Montana, and west into Idaho.
Strike out along Pintler Creek Trail (37) on your way to the CDT. The Trail is the main travel artery through this spectacular wilderness area. Use the Trail to link together Johnson Lake, Phyllis Lake, Kelly Lake, and Hidden Lake for a great multi-day adventure or simplify your trip with an out and back to Oreamnos Lake nestled in a beautiful cirque created by East and West Pintler Peaks. The Pintler Creek Trail starts out in verdant lodgepole pine forest and then ramble through marshy meadows passing the junction of Continental Divide Trail 9 and onward to Oreamnos Lake. Contact: the Wisdom Ranger District of the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest by calling 406-689-3243.
Anaconda Pintler Wilderness
Difficulty
Moderate
Maps
USGS 7.5 Quadrangles: Warren Peak, Anaconda Pintler Wilderness – Beaverhead-Deerlodge and Bitterroot National Forests, USDA Forest Service. Southwest Montana Interagency Visitor/Travel Map – West Half
Length
16 miles out and back.
Directions
From Wisdom, take state highway 278 north approximately 15 miles to Forest Service Road 185. Follow FR 185 past Pintler Lake until it dead ends at the trailhead.
Closest Town
For More Information
Montana Official State Travel Site, Wisdom Ranger District information – http://www.visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=6333&siteid=1, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest contact information – http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/b-d/contact/