Central Montana Museum

The exhibits in this nicely curated museum follow a timeline of the human history of the region from the Native Americans through the era of trading posts, homesteading, and the growth of towns and cities. Everything is neatly arranged and labeled. Some of the more interesting local residents are highlighted in their own exhibits. Visitors are greeted by a replica of a Torosaurus skull found in Valentine, Montana. 

The museum is accessible. Use caution on the ramp that accesses the rear section of the museum. It's a little too steep. 

There's a paved path on the grounds that loops past a decommissioned missile. The path is accessible.

The bridge the goes from the parking lot to the entrance has does not meet flush with the sidewalk. This obstacle can be avoided by following the paved path on the left side of the parking lot. 

The parking lot is small. We fit by parking across the spaces. Museum   47.07067, -109.4139

The History Museum and Research Center

The museum is housed in a former International Harvester dealership. The building is huge with a lot of empty space. Most of the exhibits are temporary. An overview of Great Falls' is not included which is disappointing as I like to get a feel for the history of places we visit. The second floor has a large research center with thousands of historic documents and records. 

The accessible entrance is on the north side of the building. The second floor is accessed by an elevator. Many of the displays in the research center are not accessible due to the height of the display cases. 

Parking is in the rear of the museum. The parking lot is small but it widens at the south end so RVs can be parked in those spaces without interfering with traffic flow. Museum  47.50002, -111.30515

Lowry Bridge Campground

This tiny patch of BLM land, barely 1/2 mile square, has a campground with five sites, picnic tables, fire rings, a vault toilet, and access to the Sun River. There's one bear box and a sign about bear activity. We didn't see any bears.

When we arrived in early afternoon only one site was occupied. By evening all the sites were full but everyone left the next morning. Stay limit is three days.

The ground at the sites is hard packed and rolling is fairly easy. The tables have extended tops. The road is rough with large loose gravel. The short trail is not accessible. 

The sites are long enough for most RVs but the bridge has a 10-ton weight limit. Campground   47.51288, -112.0083

Montana Museum of Art & Culture

The museum features changing exhibits. The the exhibits in main galleries when we visited were the works of Morton Levin which he created from the 1930s - 2005. He worked in a variety of mediums, and the exhibit included drawings, paintings, prints, etchings, woodcuts, and engravings. Some are very intricate and some, like his depictions of WWII, are disturbing. 

Photos were not permitted of Morton Levin's artwork. The other galleries are small - one featured weavings and the other had a timeline of the museum's acquisitions. 

The museum is accessible.

The museum is on the campus of the University of Montana. It does not have a dedicated parking lot and like most college campus the parking lots have restrictions. We found an hourly lot - W on this map - and walked/rolled 1/3 mile along Campus Drive to the museum. We tried to cut through the campus and found steps without a ramp. Stick to the sidewalk which is in good condition. Museum  46.86473, -113.98473

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge

The wildlife refuge surrounds Lake Bowdoin, an oxbow that was part of a pre-glacial Missouri River that flowed farther north than it currently does. The refuge which includes saline and freshwater wetlands, prairie, and marsh, supplies a resting, feeding, and breeding habitat for thousands of birds and other wildlife. 

Activities include photography, hiking, cross-country skiing, and upland bird and waterfowl hunting. A 15 mile driving tour circles the lake. A .4 mile paved trail starts near the visitor center.

We visited on a summer day and while we would usually walk along part of the gravel driving tour road we decided to just do the .4 mile trail due to the heat. The trail is accessible and makes a loop through the grasslands and around a small pond. The visitor center was closed so we didn't get to visit it. 

Our 25' RV fit in the accessible space at the trailhead. The visitor center parking lot is large enough for any vehicle.  It's a short uphill hike to the trailhead from the lot. Refuge   48.39353, -107.72923

 

Summit Campground

 The sites in this small campground are tucked into the trees and surrounded by wildflowers. Amenities include tables, fire rings, and vault toilets. Fresh water is not always available. There's some noise from US 2 and the nearby rail line. 

 None of the sites are designated accessible. We camped in site 5 which has room for an RV and tow vehicle so it was wide enough to deploy my lift. The table and fire ring are down a slight slope.   Campground  48.31968, -113.3509

US Route 12 Lolo Pass

The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the beginning of the trail across the Bitterroot Mountains in mid September 1805. Snow already covered the mountain tops but they had no choice but to continue because the pass wouldn't be clear of snow until the next summer. The 200 hundred mile trek took eleven days. They had to kill and eat several colts because there wasn't any game. The horses suffered from lack of forage and water and often fell and slid down the steep, rocky hills. This was the hardest part of the expedition's journey and they spent about a week with the Nez Perce tribe at Weippe Prairie recovering and resupplying.

The trail still exists as a primitive unpaved road built by the CCC in the 1930s - high clearance recommended. Fortunately Route 12, which follows the valley south of the Lolo Trail and winds along beside Lolo Creek and the Lochsa River, was completed in 1962 and is an easy and scenic route through the mountains. 

We drove west along Route 12 from Lolo, Montana to Kooskia, Idaho and made a few stops along the way. Our first stop was just across the Montana/ Idaho border at Lolo Pass Visitor Center. The parking lot has long RV spaces. Exhibits in the center focus on Native Americans and the Louis and Clark expedition. A short paved and boardwalk trail makes a loop though the forest and wetlands. The trail is accessible but the bridge over a small stream does not meet flush with the ground at either end. 

We also walked/rolled along the Glade Creek Loop Trail which I think is a cross country ski trail. It starts out wide and smooth and goes gradually uphill. It becomes narrower and gravely then starts downhill. We turned around at that point because we didn't know how long it was or if the terrain would become more difficult. We stopped back at the visitor center to ask about the trail and I think we could have completed it. Doable with a strong helper. 

Our next stop was at Devoto Grove Trail which is an accessible paved loop trail though beautiful old growth western red cedar trees. The largest parking pull off is on the opposite side of the road. 

 Mountains rise up on both sides of US 12 so we didn't expect to find many accessible trails but we decided to try Warm Springs Trail that follows Warm Spring Creek to Jerry Johnson Hot Springs. The first challenge is a steep downhill then after the bridge over the creek, a steep uphill. The trail starts out wide and smooth and we thought it would be okay but then we hit the rocks. Time to turn around. We gave it our best but it's definitely not accessible. A large parking lot with a vault toilet is on the opposite side of the street. 

We spent three nights along Route 12 - in a pull out, at Powell Campground, and at Knife Edge Campground. There are many pull offs along US 12 and none that we saw are signed "No Camping". Due to the number of people driving along Route 12 and the small size of the forest campgrounds, the pull outs can be a welcome overnight stop if all the campgrounds are full.  

Powell Campground has both electric and non-electric sites. All but ten sites can be reserved so electric sites may not be available. We camped in site 9, one of the few non-electric sites available in late afternoon. We didn't see any accessible sites but many are usable. Amenities include tables, fire rings, and vault toilets. Restrooms with running water and flush toilets are located near the camp host's site. 

Knife Edge Campground does not have a sign indicating that it is open for camping. The only sign is for a boat launch. This may be because the campground is very small and gets heavy use in the spring when the Lochsa River is high. From May 22 to June 30 half of the campsites are closed and the spaces are used for parking. The boat ramp is very rocky and seems like it's made for launching rafts, kayaks, and other small boats. We camped in the first site on the left which is a very long pull though site. We parked sideways for a better view. Amenities include tables, fire rings, a vault toilet, and changing rooms. None of the campsites are designated as accessible but they have tables with extended tops and high fire rings. 

US 12 is a winding road with 50 MPH as the highest speed. There isn't a lot of traffic and the road is suitable for any vehicle. The pull off are long and the campgrounds have spaces long enough for most RVs. US 12 Lolo Pass