38mi from Helena · 1 site · Lodging · Craig, MTWade the Dearborn in the back yard of this 3-bedroom house (fourth bedroom/living room or guide cabin next door ($150/stay to open) on 10 acres of the former Gary Cooper Ranch. Don’t be surprised to see deer, geese and ducks in the window nudging their way near the deck, especially at the spring waterfall that cascades down the slope. if you are especially quiet and observant, the hundreds of acres of park and ranch across the river also have mountain goats, bears, antelope and even the mountain lion.
Help yourself to the library, watch satellite television or DVD movies, or read from the house’s library.
The public put-in is an 11 hour trip; private access to two shorter put-ins make this a recommended site for many Montana guides. Launch from the back yard and float one half mile down the Dearborn River to the Missouri River or from anywhere on the Dearborn to your own private fishing hole among some of nature’s oldest rock outcroppings.
Only few miles from the Missouri Inn over the bridge where the Untouchables was filmed, enjoy the canyon or visit the Lewis and Clark’s Tower Rock and surrounding Park. From this base, see the spectacular Glacier Park or the continent’s largest dinosaur digs to the northwest, float the Lewis and Clark Trail by pontoon boat and lunch at the island where one of the nation's most famous fires occurred, or travel south to Yellowstone National Park or Jackson Hole, each an easy day’s visit.
Bring your dogs to the kennel behind the house, hang on the deck with river and tremendous rock views, play pool or light the outside fire pit for a campfire. BBQ or enjoy the new, custom kitchen and fisherman’s décor. In the evening, take your pick of 3 spacious bedrooms where at the end of the day 6 extra long beds await or tie a few at the fly-tying table.
