Montana Day Tripping: Missouri Headwaters State Park

As the landscape around us slowly transforms, it's easy to lose sight of the importance of nature, of undeveloped places in our lives, places that serve as refuges for wildlife while allowing us to stop and consider the treasures that make this state what it is. Missouri Headwaters State Park is one of these places, one where each trail tells a story about the land and the people who inhabited it.

This National Historic Landmark, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers flow together to form the Missouri, is a place of confluence, where not only rivers, but people, nature and places come together: Native Americans, traders and settlers searching for a place teeming with resources, the Lewis and Clark expedition searching for a way west while marveling at the land before them. As Meriwether Lewis described it: the country opens suddenly to extensive and beautiful plains and meadows, which appear to be surrounded in every direction with distant and lofty mountains.

The rivers are full, the meadows green; a perfect time to spend a few hours walking the trails and listening to the river's stories. Extend your day into Three Forks, to pick up provisions for a picnic, enjoy a cozy café or revel in the elegance of the Sacajawea Hotel.

The park's 532 acres contain scenic plains, meadows, rich wildlife and the vistas of distant mountains. Five miles of unpaved trails meander through the park, with each area a history lesson into the past. As you explore, listen to the river's stories.

Closest to the park entrance, the Campground to Confluence Trail places you where the forces of nature come together, the headwaters of the Missouri, at 2,341 miles, the longest river in the U.S. As you stroll near the banks look for signs of ground squirrel burrows, painted turtles basking on logs and 18-inch tall bottlebrush squirreltail, a food source for small mammals.

The Gallatin River Trail highlights the settlement of Gallatin City I and II. As you follow the trail visualize this as a place of prosperity and adventure for settlers migrating west, with green pastures aplenty. Founders hoped it would develop into a shipping and supply center for gold camps, but that steamboat hub never materialized. The remains of the Gallatin City Hotel are all that remain. The relocated city of Gallatin City II prospered for a while but when the railroad didn't reach it, the little town with big dreams faded away, people moved on. Keep an eye out for very still mountain cottontails, white pelicans scooping up fish, and the distinctive call of the killdeer.

Picture Captain Meriwether Lewis when you walk the Fort Rock Trail, atop a limestone rock looking over the headwaters of the Missouri River. The expedition arrived in July 1805 and was collecting information about the landscape, people, plants and animals of the western US and much of the abundant wildlife he saw is still present: marmot, bull snake, American kestrel, wheatgrass and cactus.

The area also has ties to Sacajawea, who eventually became the only female on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Captured as a child near the area, she was a guide and Shoshone interpreter for the team, and one of the most important historical figures of that time.

The Pictograph Trail takes you back to when the First Nations lived and prospered when the area's resources drew many nations resulting in a confluence of cultures. They came to this natural crossroads to hunt buffalo, fish for trout, pick berries, and trade goods, gathering the resources they needed for food, medicine, tools, clothing, and shelter. They left behind pictographs, arrowheads, tipi rings, and rock shelters. The trail leads to a sod-roofed Interpretive Plaza with numerous exhibits and a picket fence around three pioneer graves, young children taken by black diphtheria in the 1870s, at the same time representing many homesteaders and Native Americans. A peaceful, shaded picnic area along the river would be an ideal spot to reflect on the park and its history.

The Ling Rock Trail takes you all the way back in time to Headwater's geologic past and scenes that are constantly changing over time. Consider all the stories that make up this place as well as the timelessness of standing on a cliff surrounded by mountainous peaks up to 10,000 feet, surrounded by a valley. Visualizing landscapes change over time: a river bordered by cottonwoods and willows, marshy wetlands becoming meadows, and craggy limestone cliffs dotted with sagebrush scrub. Before you leave take a look at the interpretive panels, imagining the first Gallatin City across the river, the ferry, and the ling cod caught there.

Plan to return on Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. for the Summer Speakers Series in the picnic area. Stick around after the presentation for a marshmallow roast campfire. The series is free and open to the public; all you need is a chair.

Schedule a pre or post-excursion stop in Three Forks to pick up a caramel apple cinnamon roll or blueberry streusel muffin and coffee at The Shoppe Pastry and Coffeehouse, or made-to-order sandwiches to go.

The breakfast burrito and biscuits and gravy are popular choices at the Three Forks Café, while the Iron Horse Café and Pie Shop will set you up with their bison burger, retro salad, and a piece of the made-from-scratch pie.

Or end your day on the large wrap-around porch of the Sacajawea Hotel, enjoying a drink and the sunset over the Tobacco Root Mountains, reflecting on Missouri Headwaters State Park's stories and a day well spent, close to home.

For more information:

Missouri Headwaters State Park: 1585 Trident Road, Three Forks, 406- 285-3610, fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/missouri-headwaters.

The Shoppe Pastry and Coffeehouse: 119 S Main St., 406-616-7151

Three Forks Café: 105 S. Main St., 406-285-4843

Iron Horse Café and Pie Shop: 24 S Main St., 406-285-4455