Wilderness Walks
A Tradition of Walking and Learning
In a letter dated November 1962, Montana Wilderness Association President Winton Weydemeyer told this story:
Two wilderness walks conducted by the Association this summer were highly successful. The first was a walk in the Spanish Peaks Primitive Area south of Bozeman on July 21. This trip exploded the myth that ‘only the rich and strong’ can enjoy roadless country. People ranging in age from 4 to near 80 gathered for a pancake breakfast and most then climbed several miles into the rugged range. On August 18-19, a walk was conducted into the Jewel Basin area of the Swan Range east of Kalispell. The 49 hikers, ranging from 4 to 66 years, enjoyed several miles of mountain trails, many scenic viewpoints, and a number of alpine lakes.
And that is how the Montana Wilderness Association Wilderness Walks program was born.
My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing. 
— Aldous Huxley
In January 2004, a Winter Walks component was added so that no one would have to wait until spring to enjoy a volunteer guided tour. By 2006, over 300 volunteer leaders—among them outdoor enthusiasts, long-time hikers, naturalists and experienced mountaineers—organized more than 160 walks and guided nearly 2,000 people into some of the most spectacular natural areas in Montana. The most recent Summer Wilderness Walks included 118 events including day hikes, backpacking adventures, evening strolls, midweek escapes, wildflower walks, and trail maintenance projects. Special attention is given to public wildlands that are not yet permanently protected as Wilderness. The Winter Walks schedule will be available in January of each year. The Summer Walks schedule is usually available by mid April of each year.
To celebrate the first walks and two of our founders, Ken and Florence Baldwin, we have started the Founders Memorial Walk, complete with pancake breakfast. In 2007, over 45 people attended the inaugural walk on July 7.
The intention of the first walk was to build grassroots support for wilderness by taking people to a special place that needed protection. To this day, the program’s mission remains to get people into the wilderness for formative, enriching experiences that we hope will inspire them to act in its defense. Each hike is an opportunity to slow down, to feel the earth beneath your feet, to travel a winding path through the forest, to discover a wildflower-filled meadow, or to reach the top of a mountain and experience nature with all your senses. And here’s the best part—you’ll be hiking with experienced guides who are sharing their knowledge and passion for protecting our last wild places—and who are inviting you to discover their special wild spots.
Walkers will visit wild locales in Montana’s northwest, where Montana Wilderness Association staff and volunteers are working hard to protect rugged landscapes like the Scotchman Peaks roadless area, described by visitors as “walking into heaven.”
Walking is the great adventure, the first meditation, a practice of heartiness and soul primary to humankind. Walking is the exact balance between spirit and humility.
— Gary Snyder
Walkers will venture into wild places that define Montana tradition and greatness, like the Rocky Mountain Front, where craggy mountains rise abruptly from the plains and grizzly bears still roam the native prairie habitat.
Walkers can pick from a long list of stunning wild landscapes like the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, where white cliffs and wild badlands follow the Missouri River as it carves its path through this remote and fragile area.
Walkers can choose from Montana’s southern mountain ranges like the Pioneers, the Centennials and the Gallatin Ranges, home to grizzly and black bear, bison, wolves, mountain lion, elk, lynx, and wolverine—wild vistas framed by snowcapped peaks and wide river valleys.
Walks are planned for the rough, craggy wilds of eastern Montana, where walkers will find remote canyons of red rock to explore, where they may encounter wild horses and can delve into the history of Native American quest sites, buffalo jumps and battlegrounds.
To walk and roam these wild places, to learn about them first-hand, is an invaluable experience. It’s an opportunity to become intimately involved with a landscape, to learn its character and understand why it’s so important to protect our wild places for future generations—and for ourselves.
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
— John Muir
Wilderness designation will ensure that Montana’s most spectacular and biologically diverse landscapes endure far into the future. But Wilderness needs people—people like you. Wilderness needs people who are passionate about our wild landscapes and who are willing to roll up their sleeves, get a little dirty and get involved. People like you. Our hikes are lead by volunteers, and many who hike with us become volunteers through the experience. There are many other, equally compelling, opportunities to take action. We can’t guarantee, however, that each opportunity will take you outdoors—we can guarantee that you’ll be thinking about it!
So keep informed, join with others, and speak out when questions of management of our public lands arise.
But first of all, get to know these lands through Montana Wilderness Association’s Wilderness Walks. At the end of a day on the trail, take time to reflect on the beauty and wildness of the area you visited, and thank the leaders of your Walk. And then thank yourself for being there—for bringing this “wild” moment in your heart and into your memory. We promise you won’t be sorry.