Unit 240

The Bitterroot Range provides the defining ridgeline, with major peaks including Wagon Mountain, Castle Rock, El Capitan, and Ranger Peak serving as reference points for navigation and glassing. Lewis and Clark Ridge forms a prominent high divide, while Coal Ridge and Burnt Ridge offer secondary ridge routes. Lantern Ridge and Printz Ridge provide additional travel corridors.

Jerusalem Lake and Elk Lake are notable high-elevation water features. Crest passes like Nez Perce Pass and Buck Creek Saddle offer crossing points where hunters can traverse the divide.

Terrain rises sharply from 3,100-foot valley floors to 10,000-foot alpine ridges, with most hunting occurring between 6,000 and 8,500 feet. Dense forest dominates the unit—mostly Douglas fir, spruce, and lodgepole pine with scattered meadows and parks breaking the canopy. Lower elevations feature more open ponderosa pine and mixed conifer, while the highest slopes transition to sparse timber and alpine tundra.

Steep north and south aspects create distinct habitat zones, with south-facing slopes more open and north slopes heavily timbered.

Approximately 2,600 miles of road penetrate the unit's boundaries, with primary access via valley highways and well-developed forest service roads up major drainages. The connected road system concentrates hunting pressure in accessible lower drainages and around popular trailheads near Lake Como and Duffy Lake. Backcountry pressure remains moderate to light; most hunters stay within 5-10 miles of roads.

The steep terrain and trail difficulty naturally limits competition deeper in the mountains, though ridge-to-ridge travel becomes physically demanding.

Unit 240 straddles the Bitterroot Mountains along the Montana-Idaho border in Missoula and Ravalli Counties. The southern boundary runs along US Highway 93 from Lolo south to Lost Trail Pass, then follows the state line northwesterly to US 12 at Lolo Pass, completing the loop eastward back to Lolo. The unit captures approximately 60 miles of mountain spine with major valleys and drainages on both the Montana and Idaho sides.

Lolo and Hamilton serve as the primary base towns for access.

Major creeks include Magruder, Twelvemile, Cloudburst, and Tough Creek systems that drain the western slopes, with multiple named forks and tributary streams. The east side drains via North Fork Deer Creek, Davis Creek, and Salt Creek systems. Lakes cluster at higher elevations—Fish Lake, Boulder Lake, and Ingomar Lake among them, plus numerous smaller tarns.

Water reliability decreases significantly above 8,000 feet; planning routes around documented springs (Hot Springs, Soda Springs, Gallogly Spring) becomes critical for high-country hunting.

Unit 240 is black bear country. The dense forest and steep slopes create ideal denning and spring grazing habitat along the high ridges and upper meadows. Bears move from lower winter ranges upslope as snow recedes, following avalanche paths and moist draws.

Early season hunting focuses on travel corridors and saddles where bears move between basins. The scattered meadows and parks—Blue Joint Meadows, South Fork Meadows, Lost Park—provide glassing opportunities. Success requires accessing high terrain via ridge routes or major creek drainages, then glassing park systems early and late in the day.

Steep terrain and dense timber demand patience and careful stalking.