Clear waters: A wildlife-packed day trip close to campus

Tucked between the Bob Marshall and Mission Mountain Wilderness Areas, the Clearwater Canoe Trail offers floaters a wide variety of wildlife viewing and interaction within an hour’s drive of campus. The popular canoe trip provides the opportunity to combine fishing, birding, photography, and canoeing with the challenge of finding your way through a tangle of dense willow marsh.

The Clearwater River doesn’t seem to have much of an idea where it’s headed over the three-and-a-half mile stretch, winding south into Seeley Lake. A leisurely paddling pace will cover the distance in about two hours.

Along the way floaters are likely to come across some combination of warblers, loons, snipes, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, common goldeneyes, trout, muskrats, beavers and turtles, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Catch and release turtle season lasts year-round in Montana, and one would be pressed to find a better spot to nab a whopper than the Clearwater. Along the banks and lily pads is a healthy population of western painted turtles just waiting to be stalked and chased. Or admired, if that’s more your thing.

The put-in is a decently marked left four miles north of the town of Seeley Lake on Highway 83. Trail-going canoeists or kayakers, after making their way south into the lake, will hug the left bank to reach the take-out at the Seeley Lake Ranger Station.

A walking trail beginning at the station heads back north to the put-in, skipping the river’s twists and turns and making for an easy half hour stroll through the forest and wetlands that include a wildlife blind overlooking the river.

The path provides a convenient alternative to shuttling vehicles at the take-out, making the Clearwater Canoe Trail one of the only river canoe trips around that only requires the use of one vehicle-- and a great candidate for an easy afternoon trip out of the valley this fall.

Ambitious river-goers will find they can even point themselves back upstream and paddle back to the put-in if walking doesn’t suit their fancy.

UM’s outdoor program rents canoes to Griz Card holders, probably the best ticket for those looking to fish or bring along a cooler. Kayaks can also be rented in the town of Seeley Lake, providing added maneuverability for side channels and critter chasing.

will.freihofer@umontana.edu