The Bridger Range, also known as the Bridger Mountains, is a subrange of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

in southwestern

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The range runs mostly in a north–south direction between

Bozeman Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

and Maudlow. It is separated from the

Gallatin Range The Gallatin Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains, located in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming. It includes more than 10 mountains over . The highest peak in the range is Electric Peak at . The Gallatin Range was named after ...

to the south by Bozeman Pass; from the Horseshoe Hills to the west by Dry Creek; from the

Crazy Mountains The Crazy Mountains, often called the Crazies, is a mountain range in the Central Montana Alkalic Province in the U.S. state of Montana. They are a part of the northern Rocky Mountains. Geography Spanning a distance of 40 miles (64 km) ...

to the east by the

Shields River The Shields River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, long, in Meagher and Park Counties Montana in the United States. It rises in the Gallatin National Forest in the Crazy Mountains in northern Park County. It flows west, then south, b ...

valley; and from the

Big Belt Mountains The Big Belt Mountains are a section of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated mainly in the Helena National Forest, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the surrounding residents. Nearby are the cities of Hel ...

to the north by Sixteen Mile Creek. The highest point in the Bridger Range is Sacagawea Peak (), which is visible to the northeast from Bozeman. Although the range is mostly in Gallatin County, a small portion extends into Park County. Bozeman Pass, at an elevation of , is a narrow pass that lies between Bozeman and Livingston. The entire range is within

Gallatin National Forest The Gallatin National Forest (now known as the Custer-Gallatin National Forest) is a United States National Forest located in South-West Montana. Most of the Custer-Gallatin goes along the state's southern border, with some of it a part of North ...

History

The range is named after

Jim Bridger James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, Animal trapping, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was ...

, a

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

of the 19th century who pioneered the

Bridger Trail The Bridger Trail, also known as the Bridger Road and Bridger Immigrant Road, was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold fields of Montana. Gold was discovered in Virginia City, Montana in 1863, prompting settlers and prospecto ...

through mountains in southern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

into the

Bighorn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bigho ...

in 1864. On January 10, 1938,

Northwest Airlines Flight 2 Northwest Airlines Flight 2 was a Lockheed Super Electra aircraft, registration NC17388, which crashed into the Bridger Mountains in Gallatin County, Montana, about northeast of Bozeman, on January 10, 1938. All ten people on board were ki ...

crashed in the Bridger Mountains, killing all 10 aboard. This was the first fatal crash of a

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

aircraft.

Prominent peaks

The most prominent peaks in the Bridgers include: *

Sacagawea Peak Sacagawea Peak is the highest mountain in the Bridger Range in south-western Montana. The peak is named for Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman that accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Recreation The mountain is a popular hiking desti ...

, , *

Pomp Peak Pomp Peak is a mountain summit in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Description Pomp Peak is the third-highest peak in the Bridger Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, a ...

, , *

Hardscrabble Peak Hardscrabble Peak is a mountain summit in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Description Hardscrabble Peak is the fourth-highest peak in the Bridger Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is situated north of Bozem ...

, , *

Naya Nuki Peak Naya Nuki Peak is a mountain summit in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Description Naya Nuki Peak is the second-highest peak in the Bridger Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is situated north of Bozeman in ...

, , * Saddle Peak, , *

Ross Peak Ross Peak is a mountain summit in Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Description Ross Peak is the fourth-highest peak in the Bridger Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is situated north of Bozeman in the Gall ...

, , * Mount Baldy, , *

Bridger Peak Bridger may refer to: *Bridger (name) * Bridger Aerospace, headquartered in Montana, United States Places In the United States: * Bridger, Montana, town in Carbon County * Bridger, Gallatin County, Montana, census-designated place ** Bridger B ...

, ,

Recreation

Skiing

The Bridger Range is also home to the ski area Bridger Bowl. With the first

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for mountain sports in which skiers, snowboarders, or mountain bikers remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher ...

installed in 1951, Bridger Bowl quickly became a popular mountain with the locals. The area has a top elevation of 8700 feet and a base elevation of 6100 feet. On average the ski area receives of snow every year.

Backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, freeriding or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine s ...

is also very popular in the Bridgers, with snow being available on peaks such as Sacagawea from early November until late May/early June. Beginning in the 2008–2009 ski season, Bridger Bowl started to allow backcountry travel from the ski area via access gates on the northern and southern boundaries.

Hiking

Though many hiking trails exist, Sacagawea Peak is a favorite hiking area in the Bridgers. The hike is a short but strenuous one-way trek through pine forest,

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

and

scree Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall. Landforms associated with these materials are often called talus deposits. The term ''scree'' is ap ...

fields to the top of Sacagawea Peak. The Bridger Ridge Run is a race which takes place in mid-August. The race follows the ridgeline from Fairy Lake to the southern end of the range. File:BridgerMountains2009.jpg, Bridger Range as seen from Bozeman, January 2009 File:RossPeakBridgerRange2010.jpg, Ross Peak, Bridger Range, April 2010 File:SacagaweaPeakBridgerRange2010.jpg, Sacagawea Peak (right) and Naya Nuki Peak (left), April 2010 File:Bridger_Ridgeline.jpg, View of the Bridger Range looking south from the summit of Sacagawea Peak

Notes

External links

Bridger Bowl Ski Area

Information about geological history

Bridger Community
{{Authority control Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Mountain ranges of Montana Landforms of Gallatin County, Montana Gallatin National Forest

History

Prominent peaks

Recreation

Skiing

Hiking

See also

Notes

External links