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Our Philipsburg, MT Trip - August 2014

Monday is our last full day in Montana and we were very fortunate to have the weather turn to a warm sunny day. We had planned a drive for the morning and the weather was perfect for the trip. We met Gary at The Station for breakfast and following that we headed south on Mountain Highway 1 towards Georgetown Lake. Our trip was about 60 miles from start to finish and took us around Georgetown Lake, further south to East Fork Reservoir, and a stop at Echo Lake before returning to Philipsburg.

Travel Map

We drove around Georgetown Lake starting at the north end circling around on the west side, which provided plenty of views of the lake and the mountains to the east.

Georgetown Lake

Our first stop near the water was at Rainbow Bay and Gary reports this bay is very shallow as he has tried fishing this area.

Rainbow Bay, Georgetown Lake

The homes surrounding this lake range from very modest to off the scale fantastic. Regardless of the value of the home, the views of the lake are beautiful.

Georgetown Lake View

As we drove along the road that took us around the lake we were also impressed with the views on the opposite side of the road. The mountains to the west seemed to go on forever and the clouds gave the sky character and no threat of rain.

Looking west of the lake

When we reached the south end of Georgetown Lake we drove further south and took a drive on a forest service road along East Fork Reservoir. Gary has fished this lake as well and the secluded drive made us feel as if we were far from civilization. The road was labeled by a sign as "single track with turnouts" meaning that two vehicles could not pass on this road. Luckily we did not meet any vehicles before turning around and continuing back towards Georgetown Lake.

East Fork Reservoir

On our way out of the East Fork area we had a deer cross our road and we stopped to get its picture. The deer did not seem to be bothered by us and took its time before vanishing down the steep incline off the side of the road. We were not more than 30 feet from the deer.

Deer on the road at East Fork

Our final stop was at Echo Lake, which is a little northeast of Georgetown Lake. This is a very small lake but so secluded in a Lodgepole Pine forest that it was one of the best spots on our drive. The water was very clear and the public access is on the west side of the lake. The wild flowers were blooming all around and the air was crisp and cool with the scent of pine everywhere.

Wild flowers in bloom

The west side of the lake has a lot of homes on the shoreline. But the east side has plenty of turnouts and picnic tables providing the public with good access to this lake.

Echo Lake looking west

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