Cooler days. Quieter trails. One pretty spectacular backyard.
Just outside Bigfork and high above the Flathead Valley sits one of our favorite places to spend a fall day. Jewel Basin Hiking Area encompasses more than 15,000 acres at the north end of the Swan Mountain Range, with dozens of alpine lakes and miles of trails reserved for hikers. Summer is its busiest season, but fall brings something different.
The grasses have weathered to brown after a summer in the sun. Late-season color adorns the trees and low brush. The air gets cooler and cleaner, making a midday hike considerably more appealing than it was during the heat of July. Look toward the higher peaks and you may even see the first dusting of snow—a little crisp, clean, white preview of what’s coming next.
This is fall in Jewel Basin. And if you have a day to spend, we know exactly where to you.
First, You Have to Get There
Most hikes in the Jewel start at the Camp Misery Trailhead. Don’t let the name scare you. But don’t underestimate the drive, either.
From Bigfork, you’ll head toward Echo Lake before turning onto Jewel Basin Road. The final stretch to Camp Misery is a narrow gravel road that typically comes with plenty of washboard. The last five miles are steep, and low-clearance vehicles need to take extra care.
We’ve driven it in a car. You can, too. Just take your time.
While Camp Misery is only a few miles from Bigfork as the crow flies, give yourself a good 40 minutes to get from town to the trailhead. Go slowly, turn on your headlights, watch for vehicles coming the other direction and extend a little courtesy when you meet someone on the road.
Even if you can drive faster, don’t. The cloud of dust you leave behind makes the road pretty miserable for everyone else.
Before You Head Up
Make a quick stop at Bigfork Harvest Foods and grab some essentials: fresh fruit, a sandwich from the deli and plenty of water for the trail.
Then check your pack. Good shoes. Lunch. Layers. A map or downloaded trail information. And bear spray, carried somewhere you can actually reach it, not buried in the bottom of your pack.
If you don’t have bear spray, you can grab a can at Bigfork Drug, just a couple of doors down from Harvest Foods.
Jewel Basin is bear country, so know how to recreate safely in bear country before heading out. There is a vault toilet at Camp Misery, but don’t count on restroom facilities along your hike. There is also no garbage service in Jewel Basin, so whatever you bring in comes back out with you.
If You Do One Hike: Mount Aeneas
There are plenty of places to explore in Jewel Basin, but for a first trip, Mount Aeneas is hard to beat.
Plan on roughly 6–7 miles round trip, with a significant climb to the summit. For reasonably fit hikers, it’s very doable—but you’ll earn the view. Give yourself about 4–5 hours so you have time to stop, eat lunch and enjoy the summit.
From Camp Misery, you’ll climb through the trees before the landscape begins to open up and the views start doing their best to distract you from the fact that you’re still climbing.
After a couple of hours, you’ll reach what feels like it should be the top.
It isn’t.
There’s one final push along a narrow, rocky trail to the actual summit. It feels a bit like you’ve left the hiking trail and joined one of the mountain goat routes.
Keep going. The payoff is worth it.
From the top of Mount Aeneas, you feel like you’re standing on top of the world. And that’s what makes summiting a mountain worth it. The Flathead Valley stretches out below you, with views toward Hungry Horse Reservoir and the mountains of Glacier National Park in the distance.
This is a perfect place to stop and take your time. Enjoy your lunch, take in the expansive views and be sure to snap that “Look what I did” photo from the top. There’s a pretty good chance you won’t be the only one enjoying the view. Mountain goats are regulars up here. Give them space.
Take the Long Way Back
When it’s time to leave the summit, you can head back the way you came, or make a longer loop by dropping down into the basin and coming back through the valley and around the Picnic Lakes.
The second option gives you a completely different perspective. Instead of staying high along the ridge, you’re coming through the basin itself, surrounded by mountains and alpine lakes before eventually climbing your way back toward Camp Misery.
Whichever route you choose, bring a current map and know where you’re going before you start. Jewel Basin is not the place to rely on having cell service when you reach a trail junction.
Not Feeling the Summit? Head for Birch Lake
Maybe you want the Jewel Basin experience but don’t quite have that final push to the top of Aeneas in you. That’s okay. Birch Lake is a beautiful alternative.
You trade the final summit push for a hike into the basin, ending at a high mountain lake tucked below the surrounding peaks. It’s still a real hike, but without the final climb to the top of Aeneas.
Enjoy your lunch along the crisp, cold shore. Bring a fishing rod if that’s your thing—just make sure you have the appropriate Montana fishing license. On a warm early-fall day, you may even be tempted to get in the water.
Fair warning: “warm” is relative.
This is a mountain lake in Montana.
Fall Changes Quickly Up Here
This is probably the most important thing to know about hiking Jewel Basin in the fall:
Fall in downtown Bigfork and fall above 7,000 feet are not necessarily the same thing.
A beautiful September afternoon in town can mean colder temperatures, wind or entirely different conditions once you gain elevation. That’s part of what makes this time of year so good.
You might hike under a blue sky with fall color around your feet while looking across at snow-kissed mountains. Go later in the season and you may find yourself walking through a little snow yourself.
This also means you need to pay attention. Check the weather and current road and trail conditions before heading up. Bring layers even when Bigfork feels warm. As fall progresses, don’t assume that because you hiked the Jewel in July, you’ll find the same conditions in late September or October. Snow can make the road difficult or eventually inaccessible as the season progresses.
The mountains get to decide when the season changes.
A Few Jewel Basin Rules
Jewel Basin is special in part because it is managed specifically as a hiking area. Bikes, motorized vehicles and stock aren’t allowed within the designated hiking area.
Dogs must be leashed and under physical control. Group sizes are limited to 12. Bear-country food-storage requirements apply, and there is no garbage service, so pack out everything you bring in.
And treat the place like you want to find it when you come back. Stay on the trails. Give wildlife space. Leave the flowers, rocks and everything else where you found them.
It’s pretty simple.
You Earned the Burger
When you make it back to Camp Misery, change out of your hiking shoes and begin the slow drive back down the mountain. By then, that lunch you packed is going to feel like a very long time ago.
Fortunately, Bigfork is waiting. Head to the Buffalo Saloon for a burger and a cold beer with incredible backyard views of where you just were, or make your way downtown to the iconic Garden Bar.
As you enjoy your dinner, compare photos and decide whether that final push up Aeneas was actually as steep as it felt.
It probably was.
One Last Piece of Advice
Don’t trust the goats.
Don’t pet the goats. Don’t feed the goats. Don’t follow the goats because they look like they know a shortcut.
They do.
You don’t.
Take their picture, admire their ability to stand casually on terrain that made you question several of your life choices, and give them plenty of room.
They live here.
You’re just visiting.
