Beginning Tuesday, December 13, the East Side Reservoir Road, Forest Road #38, along the east side of Hungry Horse Reservoir will be closed Monday through Friday to all motorized use. The road restrictions are in place for public safety during winter logging operations, primarily log truck hauling on the Spotted Bear Ranger District. Log hauling will take place on weekdays through the winter on the plowed road.
The road will be open for snowmobile use on the weekends to mile post 37.5. The road is closed beyond this point to all users from December 1 to May to 14 annually. Parking for winter recreation on Road #38 will be available at the Desert Mountain parking area just outside Martin City or at the junction of the Abbott Bay Road, Forest Road #5301 about five miles south of Martin City.
Snowmobiler’s enjoying winter recreation opportunities are advised to use caution on the plowed road on the weekends by the staying to the right side, staying single file and riding at a prudent speed. The timber sale operators will not haul timber on the weekends, though they may plow and be doing other work. The East Road will be open to the snowmobile users from Friday at 6:00 pm to Monday at 12:01 am.
The Flathead National Forest offers several popular snowmobile areas with groomed and ungroomed trails. Snowmobile access information maps and groomed trail maps are available at any Forest Service office. The maps outline snowmobile routes and areas by ranger district and the groomed trails accessing State and National Forest lands in the Flathead area.
For more information about the East Side Reservoir road access, contact the Hungry Horse/Glacier View and Spotted Bear Ranger Districts, 406-387-3800.
