Great Bear Wilderness
The Great Bear Wilderness was congressionally designated as a Wilderness area in 1978 with a total of 286,700 acres. The Great Bear Wilderness extends roughly 36 miles and at its widest point is about 34 miles across. Elevations range from 4000 feet on the Middle Fork to 8,700 feet on Great Northern Mountain. The Great Bear forms a critical ecological link with Glacier National Park located just across U.S. Highway 2 to the north. The Great Bear completes the habitat protection for the most significant grizzly bear range in the lower 48 states.
Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).
| Designation | Wilderness |
| Managed by | U.S. Forest Service |
| State | Montana |
| Size | 286,659 acres |
| Designated | 1978, by Congress |
| Center point | 48.15° N, 113.47° W |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
None of the 18 federal campgrounds within ten miles sit inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Show 4 moreHide
6 more within ten miles are not listed here.
Trails
74 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 470 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Big River ↗ | 43.7 | |
| Spotted Bear River ↗ | 33.9 | |
| Schafer Creek ↗ | 18.9 | |
| Dolly Varden-Pentagon ↗ | 17.9 | |
| Upper Twin Creek ↗ | 16.9 | |
| Chair Mtn. Trilobites ↗ | 15.8 | |
| Sheep - Elk Loop ↗ | 15.1 | |
| Logan-Dirtyface ↗ | 12.8 | |
| Elk Ridge ↗ | 11.9 | |
| Roaring-Argosy ↗ | 11.8 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedHh Betty Baptiste Hand Piles Rx
11 mi from the center point
- PrescribedGnp Apgar Hand Piles Rx
35 mi from the center point
- PrescribedArrowleaf Rx
43 mi from the center point · 50 acres
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 8.8 miLake McDonald Lodge ↗National Historic Landmark
- 14.5 miTwo Medicine General Store ↗National Historic Landmark
- 0.6 miLincoln Creek Snowshoe Cabin ↗Glacier National Park, W. Glacier, MT
- 0.6 miIzaak Walton Inn ↗Essex, MT
- 0.7 miNyack Ranger Station Historic District ↗West Glacier, MT
- 1.9 miBelton Chalets ↗West Glacier, MT
- 2.1 miFielding Snowshoe Patrol Cabin ↗West Glacier, MT
- 2.5 miWest Entrance Station ↗West Glacier, MT
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for Montana
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Great Bear Wilderness?
286,659 acres.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Who manages Great Bear Wilderness?
The U.S. Forest Service.
Source: Wilderness Connect
What state is Great Bear Wilderness in?
Montana.
Source: Wilderness Connect
When was Great Bear Wilderness designated?
Congress designated it in 1978.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Can I camp at Great Bear Wilderness?
Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities, and the managing agency page has the permit rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Great Bear Wilderness?
A point inside the boundary is at 48.145° N, 113.470° W. Glacier National Park is 14 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Wilderness Connect
Is there a fire near Great Bear Wilderness right now?
3 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Hh Betty Baptiste Hand Piles Rx at 11 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.
Source: Fire nearby
Which national parks are near Great Bear Wilderness?
Glacier National Park (14 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.
Source: Nearby on the other atlases
Are there historic places near Great Bear Wilderness?
The National Register has 43 listings within 15 miles, including Lake McDonald Lodge and Two Medicine General Store.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.