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Lewis and Clark 200  >>  Montana  >>  Seeley Lake  >>  Community Interest  >>  Chambers Of Commerce  >>  Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Seeley Lake, Montana Location:    PO Box 516 Seeley Lake 59868 406-677-2880 This web page has had 2932 unique visitors. Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Website slchamber@blackfoot.net BigSkyMontana.us BigSkyMontana.us Description: Seeley Lake is the regional center of a large area offering abundant recreational opportunities. The appeal of Seeley Lake rests in its bountiful natural amenities like mountains, forests, lakes, streams, and starry nights. Seeley Lake is nestled between the Bob Marshall and the Mission Mountain Wilderness areas. We are also surrounded by state, federal and timber company lands.Seeley Lake is a town of about 2400 people that has grown up around a glacially-formed lake. Seeley Lake is a full-service town. It is home to a locally-owned grocery store, pharmacy, hardware store, sporting goods store, video rentals, auto repair shops, gas stations and recreation/sport rentals. Several churches will welcome you and there are available health services. Seeley Lake and the surrounding community has multiple lodges, motels, guest ranches, conference facilities and restaurants. Seeley Lake is one hour northeast of an international airport located in Missoula.Folks in Montana refer to this region as the Seeley-Swan Valley. This valley is 80-miles long and its small, rural communities are connected by Highway 83. Highway 83 connects to Highway 200 on the south end and Highway 35 is on the north end. The Clearwater River is formed by several mountain lakes north of town. The Clearwater River flows south through a glacially-formed chain of lakes and into the Blackfoot River. Seeley Lake is one of these lakes.Folks visiting Seeley Lake have many outdoor recreational opportunities from which to choose. During winter, a snowmobiler will discover more than 350 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in this area. Seeley Lake hosts a vast network of trails that wind in and around the many local mountain ranges. Guided snowmobile tours are available. Seeley Lake also boasts a world-class Nordic ski trail system. Folks can enjoy the serenity and beauty of this winter wonderland on a horse-drawn sleigh ride or on a guided sled dog ride. Seeley Lake is home to local mushers Bill, Cindy and Jim Gallea (father, mother, and son respectively). They are the first family to enter and finish the Iditarod on separate years. Other winter recreation includes snowboarding, sleigh riding, snow shoeing, ice fishing, spear fishing and ice skating.During spring, summer and autumn, folks can enjoy birding, wildlife viewing, fishing, camping, boating, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding and trap shooting. Folks can mountain bike along hundreds of miles of trails and roads (troads). You can also canoe the Clearwater River Canoe Trail. This easy 3.5 mile canoe route along the willow-lined river provides excellent opportunities to see many types of birds, including Bald Eagle. Then take a one-mile walk through old-growth forest to pick up your vehicle at the put-in-point, if you haven’t rented a canoe. Experience the mountain vistas with a scenic car ride or with a guided llama or horse pack trip. during hunting season, there are multiple outfitters for guided pack trips. During summer, there are many water sports to be enjoyed.There are three Forest Service Campgrounds on Seeley Lake with swimming areas. There is also a campground on Lake Alva. All of these campgrounds have day use areas and provide excellent recreation facilities and opportunities. Interpretive specialists hold educational programs during the summer. These programs are open to the public.When visiting Seeley Lake, you will find your experiences to unique. To highlight our community spirit and the many recreational opportunities of each season, we host three annual community events. We welcome visitors to share in the activities, games and celebration.We call Seeley Lake’s annual celebration of winter ‘Winterfest’. It is held the 4th through 5th weekends in January of each year and is Montana’s premier winter recreation event. During Winterfest we organize snow soccer and snow softball tournaments. We have clinics for Nordic skiing and snow shoeing. Local mushers give free sled dog rides. Cash prizes are awarded in snow sculpture competition. We have YMCA kids and family games along with a parade. There is a spectacular fireworks show over the frozen lake. We hold an art/crafts/food fair at the Community Hall. We have had VFW game feeds, bon-fires, kid-mutt pulls, snowmobile kid games and snow golf. Our local snowmobile club sponsors both a Fun Run and sanctioned snowcross races. Our local Nordic ski club sponsors a cross-country ski race (OSCR: Over Seeley’s Creeks and Ridges). The Seeley-Monture 100 sled dog race starts and finishes in downtown Seeley Lake making this event spectator friendly. In February, the 350-mile Race to the Sky sled dog race has a check point in Seeley Lake allowing spectator viewing.During Memorial Day Weekend in May, Seeley Lake host its annual celebration of area wildlife with the Loon & Fish Festival. US Forest Service interpretive specialists lead tours and have programs focusing on area plants and wildlife. A major focus is on Seeley Lake nesting loons and bird viewing. There are kids arts and crafts projects. We celebrate this area’s artistic talent with a two-day arts and craft fair.Seeley Lake hosts a 4th of July celebration complete with a state renowned parade and a spectacular fireworks show over the lake. During 4th of July we have had competitive games between the DNRC, Forest Service and our volunteer fire department. We have had live music in the park, arts and crafts, carnivals, Sumo wrestling, YMCA kid games, pig roasts, a raffle for a quilt created by a quilting group. No matter what, it is always a fun 4th of July Celebration. And as will all of our events, we invite visitors to join in the fun.The Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the Seeley Lake Ranger Station are both good sources of information. Along with others who live in the Seeley Lake Ranger Station are both good sources of information. Along with others who live in the Seeley Lake area, we invite you to enjoy our small-town atmosphere nestled in this mountain is a short history.Prior to settlement by European Americans, the Seeley Lake area was populated by Native American people, primarily Salish and occasionally Blackfeet.The beginning of European settlement in this area was by Jasper B. and Elmer Seely in 1881. (The modern day spelling of Seeley Lake was due to a misspelling of Mr. Seely’s name). they had a contract to furnish ties for the Northern Pacific Railroad. William Dilts, a fisherman, settled at Big Sky Lake. These homesteaders made their living from timber and fur. Surveying began in the area in 1883, six years before Montana became a state. Settlers purchased inexpensive land deemed unfit for agriculture, often selling it later to timber companies. The first logging near Seeley Lake took place in 1892. In 1896 J.B. Seeley was the first ranger at the Lewis and Clark Forest Reserve now the Seeley Lake District, part of Lolo National Forest). In 1896, the Forest Service offered the first timber sale at Seeley Lake. It was purchased by the Big Blackfoot Logging Company.World War @@ increased demand for lumber and another round of sawmill operations began. The demand for lumber continued after the war and so did the timber industry in Seeley Lake. The logging switched form horse teams and river drives to sawyer, trucking and logging roads.The Forest Service began to put the logging roads to broader use by encouraging recreational activity in the area. In 1915 the Forest Service started leasing lots around Seeley Lake that were acquired by families from Missoula and other cities around Montana. The MacLean family was one of these. Reverend MacLean raised two sons, one of who, Norman, later wrote about family and fishing the Big Blackfoot River. By 1926 there were 35 summer cottages on Seeley Lake.The semi-remote location of the Seeley Lake area combined with the abundance of fish, game and large tracts of undeveloped wild country en