Tamaracks of Seeley Lake

It’s a bit odd, kind of cool, and probably different from anything most leaf-peepers have experienced. Move over maples and oaks, there’s a new kid on the block, and he’s putting western Montana’s Glacier Country on the fall foliage map.

The Seeley Lake Giant, the largest known tamarack tree in the country, gives hardwoods a run for their money as its needles turn a warm, golden yellow each October.

The tamarack, also called a western larch, may resemble other evergreens but is actually a deciduous conifer (one of only two in North America), meaning it sheds its needles each fall.

Tamarack Festival
Visitors to Glacier Country will find the Giant, and many more like him, in the Lolo National Forest in Seeley Lake. The Seeley Lake Tamarack Festival, Sept. 24 and 25, 2005, celebrates the popular tree with an arts and crafts fair, a performance stage, Men’s Cook-Off and a bike race. Visitors will also find detailed maps leading them — via foot, bike or car — to the best tamaracks.

Tamarack trees are an increasingly big draw, said Glacier Country Executive Director Linda Anderson. “People are looking for the new and different when traveling. The tamarack, all lit up with its golden needles, is a real head-turner. Pair that with Montana’s big sky blues, and you have a breathtaking fall foliage experience.”

Glacier Country activities
Tamaracks strut their stuff throughout Glacier Country in late September and early October. Other sites worth visiting include:

• Glacier National Park, with more than one million acres and 700 miles of maintained trails that lead deep into one of the largest intact ecosystems in the lower 48 states, is a perfect location for tamarack spotting.
   
• State route 200 along the Blackfoot River just east of Missoula (a popular destination in its own right) and the Old Darby Road (gravel), which runs south from the Skalkaho Highway near Hamilton. Both provide views of tamarack-covered mountain ranges. Adding to the experience are river bottoms lined with golden cottonwood trees.
   
• During the evening hours, state route 35 along Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, serves up views of the trees’ golden hues mixed with the amber light of sunset.

When satiated with leaf-looking, visitors to Glacier Country may experience many other activities, including hiking, canoeing, golfing and bird watching. Fall temperatures are mild and the days still long.

For motorhome travelers looking for a little downtime indoors, Glacier Country’s many galleries, museums, shops and boutiques, and theaters may prove the ideal respite.

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