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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Montana >> Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument – Montana tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument – Montana

Images of Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument – Northern Montana, taken in July 2021.

Located in northern Montana, Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is a remote park run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and best accessed via the river itself. However, if you are not inclined to take a multi-day trip into the wilderness there is limited access to the area via county and BLM roads. I went to the BLM office near where I was staying in Lewistown to get the scoop and a map so I could plan my trip. The woman working in the office pointed out my best options and warned me about the gray clay, which when wet, could be a sticky obstacle to overcome.

It took and hour and a half over county-maintained dirt roads just to get to the park where my path became the unmaintained BLM rut-filled clay roads the woman spoke of. Luckily, they were dry and I spent the day exploring the park without any issues. Determined to loop back to Lewistown, rather than backtrack, I made my way east along Lower Two Calf Road in CM Russell National Wildlife Refuge only to find it had rained there the day before. Initially it was just a few simple spots of wet gray clay; just keep the wheels turning and my all-wheel drive Subaru handled them without incident. Unfortunately, the spots became larger and more frequent until I came to a clay stream crossing which I feared was just wet and sticky enough to make me a riverbed fixture like some of the sticks and rocks already entombed there. Thus the ‘backtrack’ option became my only option. All was not lost however, as the views of the great Missouri River from the road already traveled was well worth a second look.
Early morning approaching the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Early morning approaching the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM 		View across the Missouri River valley in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View across the Missouri River valley in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River flows through the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River flows through the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 View of the Missouri River across a field in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View of the Missouri River across a field in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Cliffs and the Missouri River in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Cliffs and the Missouri River in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The McClelland Stafford Ferry crosses the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The McClelland Stafford Ferry crosses the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 View of the Missouri River and the McClelland Stafford Ferry in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View of the Missouri River and the McClelland Stafford Ferry in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The McClelland Stafford Ferry crossing the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The McClelland Stafford Ferry crossing the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 McClelland Stafford Ferry in the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
McClelland Stafford Ferry in the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Southern side terminus of the McClelland Stafford Ferry in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Southern side terminus of the McClelland Stafford Ferry in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Mountainous ridge in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Mountainous ridge in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Stafford Ferry area ridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Stafford Ferry area ridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Deer in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Deer in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Rugged landscape in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rugged landscape in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 View into the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View into the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rocky ridge above the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rocky ridge above the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Granite formation in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Granite formation in the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Looking toward the McClelland Stafford Ferry and the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Looking toward the McClelland Stafford Ferry and the Missouri River in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 View into the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View into the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Rugged ridges around the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rugged ridges around the Stafford Ferry area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View from Lower Two Calf Road into the river valley in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View from Lower Two Calf Road into the river valley in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River as viewed from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River as viewed from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Wide view of the Woodhawk area and the Missouri River bend in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Wide view of the Woodhawk area and the Missouri River bend in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River bend in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River bend in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 View of the Missouri River from above the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
View of the Missouri River from above the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Trees growing from a rock formation in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Trees growing from a rock formation in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 On the banks of the Missouri River in the Lower Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
On the banks of the Missouri River in the Lower Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Wide view of the Missouri River bend from above the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Wide view of the Missouri River bend from above the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River curving its way through the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River curving its way through the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Weathered rock formation in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Weathered rock formation in the Woodhawk area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rock formation along the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rock formation along the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Burnt trees along the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Burnt trees along the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River snakes its way past a rock formation as viewed from the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River snakes its way past a rock formation as viewed from the Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Cloud cover accentuates the landscape as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Cloud cover accentuates the landscape as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Small island in the Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Small island in the Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rugged ridge as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rugged ridge as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Cliffs in the river valley as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Cliffs in the river valley as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Big sky above the Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Big sky above the Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Small river as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in CM Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Small river as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in CM Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Blocked by mud at a river crossing along Lower Two Calf Road in CM Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Upper Missouri River Brea
Blocked by mud at a river crossing along Lower Two Calf Road in CM Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Upper Missouri River Brea
The Missouri River as viewed from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River as viewed from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Trees on a rocky ridge next to Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Trees on a rocky ridge next to Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Sunlight paints hills as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Sunlight paints hills as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Rocky cliffs as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Rocky cliffs as seen from Lower Two Calf Road in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River looking east from on the Judith Landing bridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River looking east from on the Judith Landing bridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Looking west at the Missouri River from on the Judith Landing bridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Looking west at the Missouri River from on the Judith Landing bridge in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Deer and fawn in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Deer and fawn in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 The Missouri River as seen from the Claggett Hill area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
The Missouri River as seen from the Claggett Hill area in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM		 Dead end of the Old PN Bridge Road at Claggett Hill in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM
Dead end of the Old PN Bridge Road at Claggett Hill in Upper Missouri River Breaks NM

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Guest 20-Jul-2021 18:12
Very Nice. I lived in Lewistown for 2 years. Hope you enjoyed the area. It snowed there the week I moved to the town... July 12th. ha ha. >tim
Thomas Walker 20-Jul-2021 12:49
Great pics as always Jerry. "The Missouri Breaks" was a movie, I believe. Hope all is well!
Greg Temple 20-Jul-2021 03:13
What an adventure - glad you made it out! The other-worldly landscape is amazing and the colors are like nothing I have ever seen. Thanks!
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