Fishing & Hiking the Jewel Basin.gif)
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 The
Jewel Basin in aptly named. The Jewel Basin, which is located
in the Swan Range just to the east of Kalispell, is a basin
that consists of twenty, beautiful lakes. Many of these lakes
have excellent fishing. The Jewel Basin area encompasses more
than 20,000 acres and has more than 20 miles of excellent,
well-maintained trails. All the trails in the Jewel Basin
are reserved for hiking only, so leave your mountain bike
and horse behind.
The Jewel Basin
is easily reached. Just follow the signs from Highway 83 just
outside of Bigfork. The last eight miles of the road are gravel.
This section of the road tends to be very bumpy, along with
being narrow and twisty. The elevation of the trailhead rests
at 5500 feet, allowing for a rare high altitude trailhead
access in this part of the state (most trailheads begin way
down in the bottom of the valleys and make for a long walk
up).
 The
mountains in the Jewel Basin are not the towering peaks found
in nearby Glacier
National Park or out in the Bob Marshall
Wilderness Area. The highest peak, Mt. Aeneas, just tips over
7500 feet. The lower heights of these mountains allows provides
for good early season hiking and fishing opportunities at
times when the higher, more loftier mountains are still covered
in snow. Generally, depending on the snow pack, most areas
of the Jewel Basin are accessible by early June, although
this can vary greatly from year to year.
 Most
of the lakes in the Jewel Basin have excellent fishing for
cutthroat trout, some of which exceed 16 inches with 10-12
inch fish being the average. Fishing is successful using both
spin fishing and fly fishing gear, although some of the lakes
have heavily forested banks, making fly casting a challenge.
Camping is permitted
throughout the Jewel Basin area except near several popular
lakes, such as Picnic Lakes and Twin Lakes. Use of the Jewel
Basin area is heavy. Its close proximity to the Flathead Valley
and easy access brings lots of hikers up for day hikes, particularly
on the weekends. While solitude can still be found in many
areas of the Jewel Basin - particularly in areas not in day
hiking range or during bad weather - expect to see people
when hiking on the trails close to the trailhead. Parking
can also occasionally be a challenge on weekend days during
the summer, as the trailhead does not have a huge parking
area.
 Need
a backpack for your trip into the Jewel Basin? See our Backpack
Buyers Guide for more backpack information
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