State Park Milltown State Park

Address

1353 Deer Creek Road
Missoula, MT 59802 View on Map Own or manage this business?

Website http://stateparks.mt.gov/milltown Email mkustudia@mt.gov Phone 406-542-5533

Overview Service & Activities

About Abundant outdoor opportunities and a rich cultural heritage converge at the newly restored confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers at the heart of the Milltown State Park. The site of a federal Superfund dam removal and river restoration project, Milltown State Park features nearly 635 acres of terrain and several miles of river frontage. It is a small but diverse landscape, ranging from restored river bottoms and mature cottonwood stands to a pine forested bluff above the confluence and dramatic rock cliffs over the Blackfoot River. Beyond recreational pursuits, the park is a place for historical exploration along riverfront trails. Among the many stories from the deep past are the Glacial Lake Missoula floods that shaped the landscape thousands of years ago. The Salish and Kalispel know the confluence as the place of bull trout and consider it an important part of their ancient, ancestral home to this day. In 19th century history, Meriwether Lewis made a Fourth of July passage through the confluence and decades later John Mullan and his road builders spent a harsh winter there. Beginning in the 1880s, with the rise of the timber industry, the rivers were dammed to produce power for the mills and communities but at great consequence. The hopeful story of the Milltown Dam removal and rivers' return presents an educational opportunity to explore the nation’s changing relationship to the landscape as well as the science behind river restoration and ecology. Thousands of students, from grade school to grad school, have done so in the park’s short history. For a deeper dive, visit the story map, A Confluence of Stories, that highlights the natural and cultural history at Milltown State Park.

Contact

MAILING ADDRESS 3201 Spurgin Road
Missoula, MT 59804

CONTACT 406-542-5533

Details

SEASON All Year

SPECIAL DIRECTIONS From I-90 take Exit 107 towards Missoula. Stay on the road through town and take a right at Speedway Avenue/Sha-ron Fishing Access site for .08 miles then take a left to Deer Creek Road.

SERVICES Childrens Activities Handicapped Accessible Interpretive Display Parking Pets Allowed Trail

ACTIVITIES Bird Watching Childrens Activities Education Exhibit Fishing Heritage Hiking History Nature Outdoor Activity Photography Picnicking Rafting Sightseeing Wildlife Viewing