Wild Horse Island – Watch Horses Run on Flathead Lake
Distance from Mt. Forge: 20 minutes & boat ride
Wild Horse Island is a 2,000+ acre island in Flathead Lake that offers beautiful views of the lake and mountains, hiking trails, and fishing opportunities. While you cannot camp overnight on the island, you can have an amazing day. If you’d like to take a trip there, Boat Rentals and Rides offer tours and boat rentals.
It was a warm October afternoon and we decided to venture over to Wild Horse Island for the first time. We took the canoe up to Walstead Park to drop in and started on our way to the island. It was a pretty long paddle and we had a little trouble locating the closest of six public access points. Most of the island shore is occupied by private houses, so you must avoid those by using the access points. Once we landed at Rocky Bar, we walked up the hill and we were blown away.
Not only were there stunning views of the lake and Mission Mountains, but we were damn near face-to-face with a herd of big horn sheep, deer, and wild horses. We were able to approach them calmly and sit and watch them for over an hour. It was an unreal experience that we are sure to try to replicate again soon.
