Fishing & Hiking the Centennial
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Make sure you get the right camping gear when visiting
the Centennial Mountains. Visit our Camping
Gear Section for detailed shopping and product information
about Tents,
Sleeping
Bags, Backpacks
and other camping gear.
 The
Centennial Mountains are a remote and beautiful mountain range
lying along the Montana-Idaho border near Yellowstone National
Park. These mountains, which are part of the Continental Divide,
run for more than 40 miles in a east-west direction. The Centennial
Mountains receive very little use due to their isolated and
remote location, their steep nature and limited access points.
On the north flank
of these mountains lies the broad and empty centennial valley,
which also contains the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge,
Red Rock
Lakes and the Red
Rock River. The mountains rise abruptly and very steeply
up from the Centennial Valley, completely dominating the southern
skyline.
On the Montana
side of the border, the Centennial Mountains are part of the
Centennial Mountains SRMA, which is managed by the Bureau
of Land Management (not the forest services, as are most mountain
ranges in Montana). The Centennial Mountains SRMA is 26,000
acres in size, with additional acreage lying within adjacent
National Forest Lands as well as in Red Rock Lakes National
Wildlife Refuge.
The Continental
Divide National Scenic Trail cuts through the Centennial Mountains.
Other than this trail, few trails will be found in the Centennial
Mountains. Most hiking in the Centennials involves making
your own trail through steep, isolated and rocky countryside.
 Access
to the Centennial Mountains is both easy and difficult. It
is easy in that from the Montana side, to gain access to the
mountains simply involves parking the car in the Red Rock
Lakes Wildlife Refuge below and heading up (no private property
limits access to the mountains). It is difficult, though,
due to the lack of trails in the Centennial Mountains. The
lack of trails keeps all but the adventure hikers and hunters
away from the Centennials. Solitude can be easily found in
these mountains for the hiker that is looking for it. The
best and easiest access to the Centennial Mountains comes
from a road on the Idaho side of the border. This road, which
leads to radio towers on the summit of Mt. Jefferson, provides
the only high-altitude access to these rugged and beautiful
mountains.
These mountains
have only limited fishing opportunities. Only a handful
of
lakes are found within these mountains, most of which are
on the Idaho side of the border. These high mountain lakes
have decent fishing for cutthroat trout, brook trout and
rainbow trout. Water is also scarce when up in
the mountains, so pack plenty of water and bring your own
water filter.
 Learn
more about Water Filters & Water Purifiers
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