STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHUCK HANEY

RED SLEEP MOUNTAIN

SUPERB SCENERY, ABUNDANT WILDLIFE AND A BISON HERD MAKE THIS ROUTE ONE OF THE BEST TREKS IN THE WEST.

LENGTH

19 miles

REST STOPS

Book the lakefront cabin at Swan Hill Bed & Breakfast and start the day with a meal made using fresh local ingredients. swanhillbedandbreakfast.com

Look for the windmill in the town of Ravalli. There you’ll find the best doughnuts around at the Windmill Village Bakery. windmillvillagebakery.com

NOT TO BE MISSED

Open on Fridays from May to October, the Polson Farmers Market is the place to find local produce, art, baked goods, jams, jellies and more. polsonfarmersmarket.com

SIDE TRIP

Grab your binoculars and be on the lookout for great blue herons, double-crested cormorants and about 200 other bird species at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge.

RED SLEEP MOUNTAIN DRIVE in the National Bison Range winds past some amazing vistas in Big Sky Country. As the 19-mile, one-way gravel road climbs and descends Red Sleep Mountain, every mile reveals a panoramic view.

I often need three or four hours to complete the loop as I like to stop the car and shut off the engine to listen to the melodic songs of the colorful lazuli bunting or the western meadowlark, Montana’s state bird.

A series of switchbacks in the road near its 4,885-foot-high point lead to several short hiking trails. At this lofty altitude, Douglas firs and ponderosa pines replace native grasses. It’s a good place to see a rambling black bear, whitetail deer or bighorn sheep.

National Bison Range, located between the Bitterroot and Mission mountains, is home to about 350 bison. These 18,500 untamed acres pack in a lot of diverse wildlife including elk, pronghorn antelope, mountain lions, badgers and muskrats, to name a few. And, with about 200 bird species, it’s a birding paradise.

The upper stretches of the road are closed from early October to late spring. Prairie Drive, an out-and-back option through the lower “flats,” is open all year.

My favorite time to visit is in May, when the road is fully open, the native prairie grasses have greened up and bison calves can be seen following their mothers about.

Traveling Red Sleep Mountain Drive is an adventure that embodies the spirit of the West—independent, rugged and awe-inspiring.

Green grasses make a lovely canvas for bright yellow arrowleaf balsamroot wildflowers.

Diverse wildlife, including bison herds, is a fixture along the drive.