Lost Horse Guard Station
Winter 2025 - 2026 is the first winter season the cabin is available for rent during the winter. Please let us know how we can improve the facility. From January - March the cabin must be accessed by snowmobile or other over-snow vehicles via a 14 mile route that may not be recently groomed. Using funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the cabin was constructed by Emil Schwartz, from Wisdom, MT and known for a paying close attention to detail. Its quality of
Check availability on Recreation.gov ↗



Site mix
| Cabins | 1 |
Site guide
1 site. Tap a filter to narrow the list; the map follows.
| Site | Shade | Water / sewer | People / vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Horse Guard Station | Partial | No / – | 8 / – |
Per-site records as published by the managing agency on Recreation.gov. Blank cells mean the agency listed nothing for that site. Check-in 2:00 PM, checkout 12:00 PM.
Weather by month
Getting there
| Nearest town | Darby, Montana |
| Coordinates | 46.1307° N, 114.4934° W · Directions ↗ |
Fire nearby
- PrescribedRx D4 Piquett Creek
24 mi from the campground · 2,210 acres
- PrescribedRx D3 Cameron Gaps
33 mi from the campground · 1,100 acres
- PrescribedScf Nz Pile Burn Rx
45 mi from the campground · 34 acres
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.
Supplies & services
| RV sales & service | Hamilton RV Sales Of Montana ↗ | 18.8 mi |
Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.
Explore
Worth a stop
- 2 miTwin Lakes Trailhead ↗Trailhead
Trails nearby
- 0.1 miSnow Trail 429 ↗13.9 mi trail
- 0.1 miBailey Lake1 mi trail
- 1 miBear Lake4.3 mi trail
- 1 miBear Creek ↗22.9 mi trail
- 1.1 miSpruce Creek ↗8.6 mi trail
- 2.1 miEast Moose Creek ↗36.3 mi trail
Trailheads within three miles
- 1 miBear Creek Pass Horse Camp Trailhead ↗Bitterroot National Forest · Season July
- 2 miTwin Lakes Trailhead ↗Bitterroot National Forest
Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.
Public land it sits in
This campground sits inside Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, which overlaps Bitterroot National Forest.
- inSelway-Bitterroot Wilderness ↗Wilderness · Forest Service · 1,347,644 acres
- inBitterroot National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 1,664,512 acres
- inNez Perce-Clearwater National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 4,072,795 acres
Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.
Other campgrounds nearby
Cabin and lookout rentals nearby
On the National Register nearby
- Lost Horse Fireman's Cabin (24Ra197)Building · Darby · 0 mi
- El Capitan LodgeBuilding · Hamilton · 12.7 mi
- Hayward LodgeBuilding · Darby · 12.7 mi
Natural features
The cabin resides nearly 18 miles from Highway 93 in the Lost Horse Creek drainage on the west side of the beatuful Bitterroot Valley. The Lost Horse Road was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The drainages on the west side of the valley differ from the surrounding landscape. These glacial carved canyons are home to towering peaks, craggy granite cliffs, serene alpine lakes, steep avalanche chutes, flowing creeks and cascading waterfalls. These features create a microclimate in the canyon that sustains a dense mixed coniferous forest that contains ponderosa pine in the lower/drier sites; Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western red cedar along the creek, and lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce and whitebark pine in the higher elevations. The Lost Horse Road provides access into the Bitterroot Mountains much further than the typical eastern boundary of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness can be accessed at Bear Creek Pass and Twin Lakes, which are both within 2 miles of the Lost Horse Guard Station.
Recreation
Visitors to the Lost Horse Guard Station have access to a multitude of recreation opportunities. Hiking: There are many trails that are close to the cabin. The Bailey Lake Trailhead is within walking distance. Travel one mile to the west to Bear Creek Pass and access the Bear Creek Trail, Lower and Upper Bear Lakes, Coquina Lake, Fish Lake and the South Fork of Lost Horse Creek Drainage. Travel 2 miles to the North to access the Twin Lakes Trail and Wahoo Pass Trail and the vast expanse of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Fishing: Along with Lost Horse Creek, anglers can drive or hike to any of the lakes mentioned above. Expect to find Brook Trout, Westslope Cutthroat trout, Rainbow trout, Bull trout, Brown trout and Mountain Whitefish. DISCLAIMER* Some of the lakes in the area are in Idaho. Please obtain the appropriate licenses in the state that you will be fishing in. Hunting: Many species are at home in the Lost Horse Creek drainage. Hunters can strike out in search of whitetail deer, mule deer, black bear, elk and mountain grouse species.
Guidebooks for Montana
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
Do I need a reservation at Lost Horse Guard Station?
Sites at Lost Horse Guard Station are reservable on Recreation.gov. Any walk-up sites are listed on the booking page.
Source: Recreation.gov
What time is check-in at Lost Horse Guard Station?
Check-in 2:00 PM, checkout 12:00 PM.
Source: Recreation.gov
How many sites does Lost Horse Guard Station have?
1 site, including 1 cabin.
Source: Recreation.gov
What is there to do at Lost Horse Guard Station?
Visitors to the Lost Horse Guard Station have access to a multitude of recreation opportunities. The Recreation section on this page has the rest.
Source: Recreation
What is the nearest town to Lost Horse Guard Station?
Darby, Montana.
Source: Getting there
What if Lost Horse Guard Station is full?
The nearest public campgrounds are Schumaker Campground (1.4 mi, first-come), Three Frogs Campground (12.5 mi, first-come), and Lake Como Campground (13.1 mi, first-come).
Source: Campgrounds nearby


