By:
Submission
The Miller Creek Cabin is located in the Townsend Ranger District and rests at the intersection of the Confederate Gulch Road (FS Road 287) and the Blacktail Road (FS Road 4171), surrounded by scattered forest in the Big Belt Mountains in west-central Montana. The cabin is accessible by high-clearance vehicle, but requires over-the-snow vehicle travel during winter months.
Please use caution when accessing Miller cabin in the winter months, winter access will vary based on snow conditions. Do not count on wheeled vehicle access from November through April. You can get to Miller cabin in the winter months with snowmobile or cross country skiing. It is not recommended driving full size vehicle to the site during this time period.
During the summer months, enjoy a hike on local trails that will take you to high mountain lakes. During the fall, the cabin offers a wide array of recreation opportunities including hiking, hunting and off-highway vehicle access. The winter months provide for cross-country skiing and snowmobile opportunities.
This is a two room log cabin that has been completely remodeled. In addition to the cabin there is a wood shed and new outhouse facility.
Miller is a rustic log cabin furnished with two sets of bunk beds, kitchen hutch and table with four chairs. Pots and pans as well as dishes and some cleaning supplies are available for use. A two-burner propane camp cook stove and two lanterns are provided. Guests will need to provide their own fuel for the cook stove and lanterns. The stove and lantern require pre-filled propane cylinders which screw on (one pound cylinders work well). There is no water available.
Guests must bring their own bedding and pillows, flashlights, towels, food, garbage bags, dish soap, dish towels, extra cooking utensils and dishes, toilet paper and paper towels. Bedding and linens are not provided. Guests must clean the cabin completely and pack out all food and trash before leaving.
No firewood provided from June 1st - August 31.
The cabin sits at the confluence of two drainages, Confederate and Blacktail Creeks. The site is shaded for most of the day with mature trees and shrubs.
Confederate Gulch is a steeply incised valley on the west facing slopes of the Big Belt Mountains. Its small stream drains westward into Canyon Ferry Lake on the upper Missouri River Valley near present day Townsend, Montana. In 1864 Confederate soldiers on parole from the American Civil War made a minor gold discovery in the gulch, but in 1865 the discovery of the sensationally rich Montana Bar - one of the richest placer strikes per acre ever made - led to other rich gold strikes up and down the gulch, and touched off a frantic boom period of placer gold mining that extended through 1869. From 1866 to 1869 the gulch equaled or outstripped all other Montana Territory mining camps in gold production, producing an estimated $19 to $30 million in gold - late 1860s money. For a time, the gulch became the largest community in Montana. In 1866 Montana had a total population of 28,000, and of these, about 10,000 (35%) were working in Confederate Gulch. The main community was Diamond City while gold production was at its height; Diamond City roared along both night and day.
From Townsend, Montana: Turn east from US Highway 287 onto US Highway 12 for approximately 3 miles. Turn north on State Highway 284 for approximately 15 miles. Turn northeast onto Forest Road 287, Confederate Gulch, travel on Forest Rd 287 for approximately 8 miles. Arrived at location. Junction of Forest Rd 287 and Blacktail Rd 4171.
Please use caution when accessing Miller cabin in the winter months, winter access will vary based on snow conditions. Do not count on wheeled vehicle access from November through April. You can get to Miller cabin in the winter months with snowmobile or cross country skiing. It is not recommended driving full size vehicle to the site during this time period.
I am writing this review not because I have been to this cabin since being rented by the park service but because I was at this cabin 34 years ago. My grandfather, George W Miller is who this cabin is named after. I spent two summers here in a bunkhouse that now appears to be gone. We did not have power. The water was spring fed from the mountain above across the road. We had a gas refrigerator and stove along with a wood stove. We went to town (Townsend) on Wed of each week for supplies and to use a phone to call home and check in. These were the best times of my life. We fished for trout, panned for gold, explored old towns including Diamond City, and learned about the history of these places. I am 46 now, and finally have the means to go back again, one last time. I plan to do so in the next year or so, Lord willing.
Clean, quiet, cared for.
Road was dusty, creek was dry here. Maybe underground. But cabin was great. No Verizon service. I doubt any service.
