Ear Mountain Cabin

Behind the gate on South Fork Teton Road

The Ear Mountain Cabin stands behind a gate on the left side of the South Fork Teton Road, under the northeast slope of Ear Mountain. It sits on the Rocky Mountain Front Range, near the South Fork of the Teton River. Entry is by key. After a reservation, the ranger district sends pickup instructions by email. Check-in and check-out are both at 2:00 p.m.

The kitchen has a full-sized propane range and oven, counter space, and shelves stocked with dishes, flatware, pots and pans, and a coffee pot. A propane heater warms each room, and a wood stove has a viewing window. There are electric lights and outlets. Two private bedrooms hold built-in bunk beds, and the cabin sleeps nine. Nine is also the limit, and no camping units are permitted on the site.

The two listings disagree about water. Recreation.gov lists a potable outside faucet. The forest’s own page, last updated August 21, 2026, says potable water and restrooms are not available at the site. Both ask guests to bring garbage bags, because it is a “pack it in, pack it out” facility. Guests clean the cabin before leaving, and a fee is charged if extra clean-up is needed. No pets or stock are allowed.

The road leaves Highway 89 about 5 miles north of Choteau and runs west as the Teton Canyon Road. Just before mile marker 17 it turns left onto the Bellview Cutacross Road, crosses a bridge, and turns right onto the South Fork Teton Road just past a group of mailboxes. The cabin is about 4 miles on. The listings call the drive easy, with the first 17 miles paved and the last mile on well-maintained gravel. They place the cabin about 26 miles west of Choteau, but give the distance back to town for food, fuel, and supplies as 23 miles.

Trailheads, bears, and a winter closure

From the cabin it is a short way to the Ear Mountain Wildlife Management Area and to the Headquarters Pass and Our Lake trailheads, which lead with other trails into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The listed pursuits are hiking, horseback riding, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. The nearby BLM Ear Mountain Outstanding Natural Area is closed each year from December 15 to June 30. No hunting is allowed within the cabin gates.

The forest lists grizzly and black bears, white-tailed deer, bald eagles, lynx, bighorn sheep, and gray wolves among its native wildlife. Bears frequent the area around the cabin. All food must be kept in approved containers, inside the cabin, or in a hard-sided vehicle; the Forest Service page sets that rule from March 1 through December 15. Firewood is to be gathered or bought near the cabin and burned there, to keep tree-killing pests from spreading.

From administrative cabin to rental, 2022

The building served the Lewis and Clark National Forest as an administrative cabin and was renovated in 2022. On June 22 of that year, Sandra Watts, Acting Associate Deputy Chief of the National Forest System, signed a notice that appeared in the Federal Register on June 27: “The Ear Mountain Cabin would be a new recreation rental opportunity and is proposed at $75 per night.”

The notice said the fee was only proposed and would be settled after further analysis and public comment. If approved, it could not take effect until at least six months after publication. The money would go to operating, maintaining, and improving the site. Rory Glueckert, the forest’s Recreation Program Manager, was named as the contact. Reservations would run through Recreation.gov, which charged $8.00 to book.

The next step was a meeting of the Missouri River Resource Advisory Committee. The committee advises the forest on recreation fee proposals, and its notice was signed August 8, 2022, by Cikena Reid, USDA Committee Management Officer. The meeting was held by telephone and video on September 8, 2022, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. The first item on the agenda was the Ear Mountain Cabin fee. Members of the public could ask for up to three minutes to speak. Molly Ryan served as Designated Federal Officer, and Elizabeth Casselli as RAC Coordinator.

Recreation.gov created its record for the cabin on September 15, 2022, and activated it on June 27, 2023. The overnight fee stands at $75 per night.