Beavertail Hill State Park and Camping Site

(Clicking on photos will open much larger size views)

Just 25 miles east of Missoula on Interstate 90 lies Beavertail Hill State Park and Campground. We have visited this campground three times this past summer and had wonderful experiences with the great Montana outdoors every visit. Above is a photo of our campsite along the Clark Fork River. We think we had the "best" space, #9, with a big grassy area right next to the river.

Below is a photo taken from a hiking trail across the river. The motor home is mostly obscured by trees. Great spot, huh?
And below is our morning view from the passenger side seat of the motor home. God, it was great! (Clicking on photos will open much larger size views)
There is a one-mile hiking path that encircles the campground area, but the park itself is about 40 acres in size. We encountered a wild turkey along the path this weekend. He was all alone, which I thought was unusual.

I also heard, and then witnessed a BEAVER swimming alongside a little island in the middle of the Clark Fork River. This guy was swimming upstream and SLAPPING his tail on the water with a resounding "WHACK!" that must have been audible from a very long way off. I stood perfectly still, standing about twenty feet away from him, with my fly rod in hand, while he made several trips upstream and back. I finally lost sight of him when he went underwater again, and so I continued to work the water for trout.

I caught Bull Trout, which are mandatory "catch and release" in the Clark Fork, but I didn't realize there were so many of them.