beaver creek park

BEAVER CREEK PARK

Located 12 miles south of Havre on Highway 234, this natural recreation area of 10,000 acres extends to the north slope of the Bears Paw Mountains. Picnic areas and developed secluded campsites are located for public use. The park offers unlimited opportunities for recreation such as sightseeing, hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Within the park are two lakes that are open to fishing all year round. Stream fishing opens the 3rd Saturday in May. On the adjacent Rocky Boy Reservation are many more miles of cross-country skiing trails, as well as down hill skiing, and access to many more fishing holes.

Beaver Creek Park is part of a unique area in North Central Montana Plains country, the Bears Paw Mountains. The Park is a 10,000-acre strip along the North slopes of the Bears Paw Mountains, about one-mile wide by 17 miles long, and is one of the largest county parks in the Nation. Within this natural recreation area are rolling grasslands, pine woods, aspen and cottonwood groves, rocky cliffs and cold rushing streams. The vegetation ranges from box elder, alder, willow, buffalo berry on the north end to cool leafy cottonwood, aspen, ponderosa pine, lodge pole pine, and Douglas fir on the south end.

Beaver Creek, Bear Paw Lake and Lower Beaver Creek Lake are well stocked with Rainbow and Brook trout. The Park abounds with wildlife, among the many animals you may see are whitetail and mule deer, bobcat, beaver, coyote, fox, mink, pheasants, grouse, Golden Eagles and hawks.

The geology is interesting. Formations range from glacial deposits at the northern end through volcanic strata and dikes, to metamorphic and sedimentary rocks in which fossils can be found.

Plant and bird species from the Rocky Mountains merge here with those of the Plains providing an excellent area for biological studies.