Flatiron Mountain

3.8/5 (5 reviews)
Cameron, Montana (Madison County)
Last Updated: 09/18/2022

Trail Information

Highlights

Flatiron Mountain Road is located in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the largest of the national forests in Montana covering 3.35 million acres. This road is less than an hours drive from Ennis or West Yellowstone, and just under 2 hours from Big Sky Montana. This road is the middle of three connecting roads that make up a loop around Flatiron Mountain. The views of the Centennial Mountains to the south are stunning. You are sure to stop several times around Waypoints 4 and 5 and take pictures, and each time be amazed that the view gets better as you wind back and forth up the side of the grassy mountain. These roads are not heavily traveled, increasing your odds of seeing wildlife as well as enjoying that well-earned peace and quiet. Sit back and listen to the birds chirping or the occasional screech of a Red-Tailed Hawk. Watch the tall grass flowing like waves along the hillside below a picturesque scene of the Centennial Mountains to the south. Bring the pets, bring the family, this is a beautiful trail that will not soon be forgotten.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

3.8/5 (5)
Official Crew
27800
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 09/03/2022
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

We love the views of the Centennials along this trail. We were met with a downed tree across the road and no way around, so the wife and I took turns with a hand saw and pulled a section out of the way. Big thanks to whoever started to cut through it. Fortunately, we only had to cut the other half.
Official Crew
27800
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 09/18/2021

We hit many trails this afternoon looking for critters. We started out crossing the Madison River at Hutchins Bridge, heading up West Fork Madison to Standard Creek, turning left at Soap Creek, and following it through Flatiron Mountain and Freezeout Creek, making the loop back to Standard Creek. The trails were in great shape, Flatiron Mountain had less mud than usual and was easy to traverse. Once back at Standard Creek Road, we were amazed to have seen nine deer on this short loop, so we decided to head back down Standard Creek to West Fork Madison, where we saw a doe and two tiny fawns, then up Jackpine Gulch to East Bench. We had to clear a couple of downed trees from East Bench; otherwise, there were no issues with this trail. We saw two more deer on the way in and hiked around the end of the trail for a few. It was a surprise looking through the charred tree at how close we were to Cliff Lake. Headed back out, we took Jackknife out to Cliff Lake Bench and watched the sunset. Driving out in the twilight, we saw a couple of elk and a few more doe and fawn. All in all, on this trip we saw 19 of these four-legged critters. That's usually pretty close to our tally for an entire summer. For one evening, that was amazing!
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 09/22/2020

Flatiron Mountain for me was Part 2 of the 3 trails that make up a loop which (with all 3) begins and ends off the Standard Creek Trail. Freezeout Creek and Soap Creek being the other 2 within the loop. Of these 3 trails that make up this loop I gave Flatiron Mountain the highest rating as for me it was the highlight of the loop. With sections of the Flatiron Mountain Trail that open up into grass fields, the views are absolutely outstanding. The trail on this particular day was dry and in great shape. Some rocks to keep an eye out for but all in all this was a trail that was more about the views off the road vs. those on the road. Thanks guys, great trail!
Official Crew
27800
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 09/06/2020

Another beautiful sunny day in the mountains. There was smoke on the horizon from the wildflowers, you would have never guessed that the next day it dumped a couple of inches of snow.
Official Crew
27800
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 08/17/2019

I enjoy the views of the mountains on this trail. We usually run the loop once a year and the road is generally pretty dry by this time of year. The snow lingered a month longer than usual, and this summer was stormy, so there are some pretty muddy sections of road. No complaints with the mud though, we usually know summer as the smoke season and sometimes can't even see the mountains from this trail due to the number of wildfires typically burning this time of year. This time around we saw a moose (only a quick glimpse after the last mud shot in the video), sure wish I was faster with the camera!

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