Black Butte

Sentinel of the Gravelly Range

Black Butte, 10,546 ft., is the highest peak in Southwest Montana’s Gravelly Range and is perhaps the easiest high point in any Montana mountain range to access. It is best reached from Ennis, Montana, via the very scenic 72-mile Gravelly Range Road, which quickly climbs in elevation and stays on what might be considered the crest of the range. Following it all the way leads to the Centennial Valley and Red Rock Lakes NWR.

This road is within one mile of the top of Black Butte, and since the route starts at 9,300 ft., an elevation gain of only 1,247 ft. is required to reach the summit of what is essentially a big plug or cone of volcanic uplift.

There is no official trailhead for Black Butte. A parking spot just below the peak is easy to find. Park there and walk ¾ mile through an open field until you come to a “ramp” of rocks at the base of the slope, where you will find a trail. This route will take you most of the way to the top, where you head towards the cairn of rocks, which marks the summit.

Part of the appeal of ascending Black Butte is that getting there requires a magnificent drive through the Gravelly Range. As the peak is in the southern reaches, there are plenty of excellent views in all compass directions. Here is a quote from long-ago visitors that captures it all … “they were camped, looking over green, flowery hills that stretch miles down to the ranch lands of the Centennial Valley. If you were to pick an area that exemplifies Montana, this may be it. Mountains and all sides, two river basins visible, mining history to the north, and lush pasture, land as far as the eye can see”.

Gravelly Range geology comprises ancient metamorphic rocks beneath younger sedimentary rocks. Some areas have unconformities, or gaps in the rock layers, where a large portion of geological time is missing. There are also sedimentary rocks from the Tertiary period that contain fossils. In some areas, volcanic uplifts that rose through the sediments are evident.

Ennis, Montana, offers lodging and meals and is the nearest town for access to the passage to Black Butte. Inquire in town about how to reach the Gravelly Range Road.