Welcome to the Seeley-Swan Valley! Whether you are a first-time visitor or a long-time resident, we hope you find this guide to hiking, biking and paddling opportunities informative and useful. This site is all about self-propelled recreation--hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking--where to go and how to get there. These pages feature just a sample of all the places to go and things to see in this magnificent valley, so we provide a number of links to other sources of information in case you can't find exactly what you're looking for.

See you out there!

An Overview of the Valley

The Seeley-Swan Valley is located in western Montana, northeast of Missoula and south of Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. The valley is approximately 80 miles long, with state highway 83 the main travel route through the area. It is bounded on the west by the Mission Mountains, and on the east by the Swan Range. The valley is part of two national forests, the Lolo National Forest and the Flathead National Forest.

The Swan River flows north through the Swan Valley and into Swan Lake. The Clearwater River starts as Clearwater Lake and flows south through the "Chain of Lakes," Lindbergh, Alva, Inez, Seeley and Salmon Lakes. There are eight major lakes and over two dozen smaller lakes, some accessible only on foot.

There are several small communities along the Highway 83 corridor. The largest of these is Seeley Lake, with a population of about 2,500. The Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce maintains a list of member businesses in the area, including restaurants, lodging and rental equipment. Additional information on recreation and camping opportunities is provided by the Lolo National Forest map and the Flathead National Forest map. The Seeley Swan valley is also a wonderful area for birding.

 

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