Painted Rocks State Park

Park in Montana, United States

45°40′53″N 114°18′03″W / 45.68139°N 114.30083°W / 45.68139; -114.30083^[1]Area23 acres (9.3 ha)^[2]Elevation4,754 ft (1,449 m)^[1]DesignationMontana state parkEstablished1963^[3]AdministratorMontana Fish, Wildlife & ParksWebsitePainted Rocks State Park

Painted Rocks State Park is a public recreation area located at the southern end Painted Rocks Reservoir, 24 miles (39 km) south of Darby, Montana. The state park received its name from the green, yellow and orange lichens which cover the grey and black rock walls of the granite and rhyolite cliffs.^[2] The park has Bortle scale class 1 skies which makes the state park a great place for astronomy as it is far away from light pollution.^[4]

History

The reservoir is in the West Fork Valley of the Bitterroot Mountains, which was an important place for the Salish people.^[2] The reservoir was created with the impoundment of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River in 1939.^[5] The park was created in 1963.^[3]

Wildlife

The park is home to elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, black bear, and moose. In the 1980s, bighorn mountain sheep and peregrine falcons were reintroduced to the area. The reservoir is a stopping ground for waterfowl during spring and autumn migrations. Residential birds include osprey, great blue heron, spotted sandpiper and bald eagles.^[2]

Activities

The park offers outdoor activities such as bird watching, boating, camping, fishing, canoeing, hiking, photography, picnicking, swimming, and wildlife viewing.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Painted Rocks State Recreation Area". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Painted Rocks State Park". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Park Origin by Date". Montana State Parks. 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
^ R, Mike (August 22, 2021). "State Park Bortle 1 Scale Information In The US". CosmosPNW. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Painted Rocks State Park (brochure)". Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Retrieved June 11, 2018.

External links

Painted Rocks State Park Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Protected areas of Montana

Federal

National parks	Glacier Yellowstone
National monuments	Little Bighorn Battlefield Pompeys Pillar (BLM) Upper Missouri River Breaks (BLM)
National battlefield	Big Hole
National historical parks and historic sites	Grant–Kohrs Ranch NHS Nez Perce NHP
National historic and scenic trails	Lewis and Clark NHT Nez Perce NHT Continental Divide NST Pacific Northwest NST
National recreation area	Bighorn Canyon
National Wildlife Refuges	Benton Lake Black Coulee Bowdoin Charles M. Russell Creedman Coulee Grass Lake Hailstone Hewitt Lake Lake Mason Lake Thibadeau Lamesteer Lee Metcalf Lost Trail Medicine Lake Ninepipe Pablo Red Rock Lakes Swan River UL Bend War Horse
National Forests	Beaverhead–Deerlodge Bitterroot Custer Flathead Gallatin Helena Kootenai Lewis and Clark Lolo
National Wilderness	Absaroka–Beartooth Anaconda–Pintler Bear Trap Canyon Bob Marshall Cabinet Mountains Gates of the Mountains Great Bear Lee Metcalf Medicine Lake Mission Mountains Rattlesnake Red Rock Lakes Scapegoat Selway–Bitterroot UL Bend Welcome Creek
National wild and scenic rivers	East Rosebud Creek Flathead Missouri

State

State parks	Ackley Lake Anaconda Smoke Stack Bannack Beaverhead Rock Beavertail Hill Big Arm Black Sandy Brush Lake Chief Plenty Coups Clark's Lookout Cooney Council Grove Elkhorn Finley First Peoples Buffalo Jump Fort Owen Frenchtown Pond Giant Springs Granite Ghost Town Greycliff Prairie Dog Town Hell Creek Lake Elmo Lake Mary Ronan Lewis and Clark Caverns Logan Lone Pine Lost Creek Madison Buffalo Jump Makoshika Medicine Rocks Missouri Headwaters Painted Rocks Parker Homestead Pictograph Cave Pirogue Island Placid Lake Rosebud Battlefield Salmon Lake Sluice Boxes Smith River Somers Beach Spring Meadow Lake Thompson Falls Tongue River Reservoir Tower Rock Travelers' Rest Wayfarers West Shore Whitefish Lake Wild Horse Island Yellow Bay
State forests	Clearwater Coal Creek Lincoln Lubrecht Experimental Stillwater Sula Swan River Thompson River
Wildlife Management Areas	Amelia Island Aunt Molly Badlands Beartooth Beckman Big Lake Blackfoot-Clearwater Blackleaf Blue Eyed Nellie Bowdoin Buffalo Head Park Bull River Calf Creek Canyon Creek Canyon Ferry Dodson Creek Dodson Dam Dome Mountain Ear Mountain Elk Island F Island Flathead Lake Flathead River Fleecer Mountain Fox Lake Freezout Lake Fresno Reservoir Fresno Tailwater Gallatin Garrity Mountain Grant Marsh Gravelly-Blacktail Haymaker Hinsdale Horseshoe Lake Howard Valley Isaac Homestead Judith River Kootenai/Falls Kootenai/West Kootenai/Woods Ranch Lake Helena Lost Creek Lower Stillwater Lake Madison-Bear Creek Madison-Wall Creek Milk River Mount Haggin Mount Jumbo Mount Silcox Nevada Lake Ninepipe North Swan Valley CE Pablo Ray Kuhns Robb-Ledford Rookery Roundhom Sanders Seven Sisters Silver Gate Silver Run Smith River Sun River Swan Lake Thompson-Fisher CE Three Mile Threemile Vandalia War Dance Island Warm Springs