Trout Creek, Montana

This is beautiful downtown Trout Creek.  It really is a “don’t blink” town.  Per the 2000 census, population 261, it covers 1.9 square miles.  The PO building is less than half the size of the one on Grand Lake.  Trout Creek is larger than Rand, CO, and maybe even a bit larger than Parshall.  It has 2 motels, 2 bar/restaurants, 2 convenience stores with gas.  Just on the western edge of town is a boat ramp and swim beach.  Because of Noxon dam, a few miles west, the Clark Fork River is wide and slow enough to be considered a lake.  Because it’s a narrow, steep valley, the lake is deep but not all that wide (for a western lake).  There are a lot of homes scattered in the woods around Trout Creek and as you travel between Trout Creek and Thompson Falls there are other, smaller, communities, ranches, and homes.  You never know if a dirt track leads to a ranch, a small home or a group of homes.

In 1981 the state legislature designated Trout Creek “Huckleberry Capital of Montana”.  They celebrate this the second weekend in August with the Huckleberry Festival.  I’ll plan to attend the parade and festival and send photos.  Last time we attended was in 1991.  Reaction to our Golden Retriever ranged from a Down syndrome child hugging and petting her while she sat absolutely still, to “get away from my baby” when we sat within 20 feet or so of a booth to eat our ice cream.  (The woman inside had her baby in a stroller, in the booth with her.)