Jackknife

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3/5 (8 reviews)
Cameron, Montana (Madison County)
Last Updated: 12/03/2023

Trail Information

Highlights

Located in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Jackknife is a short trail that allows you to break out of the surrounding tall trees and get out into the open, grassy fields, overlooking the valleys and enjoy the surrounding mountain views. Once on top of the rolling hills, the mountain views stretch for miles. The tall grass blows like waves through the fields and along the hillsides. This is a popular grazing and watering spot for the cows which can present a roadblock sometimes. The kids will get a kick out of the closeup drivebys, and some good moo's along the way.

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

3/5 (8)
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Official Crew
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38400
Seasonal Closure
Visited: 12/03/2023

Closed for the season, see you next year!
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Official Crew
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38400
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 05/28/2023

Pretty drive a couple of ruts with some mud and water, but easily passable. A couple of deer stood nearby to say hi. The surrounding views were fantastic.
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
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Official Crew
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38400
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 06/19/2022

The views from this trail always catch me by surprise. The snow-covered mountains, green grassy fields with wildflowers, and the aspens in their fresh, bright green color. Also saw some flowers that we hadn't seen before, these purple bell-looking things. They were all within a 20-foot area.
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
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Official Crew
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38400
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. 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!
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
Trail Review: Jackknife - Cory Wooldridge
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Official Crew
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38400
Open
Rated 3/5
Visited: 09/08/2021

The Goose Fire area closure order was rescinded on October 7th, allowing the reopening of the following trails: Cliff Lake Bench Conklin Lake East Bench Elk Lake Jackknife Jackpine Gulch South Bench The condition of the affected trails is unknown and will be updated soon.

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