Hungry Horse Dam

Hungry Horse Montana

Listing Type: Dam
City: Hungry Horse Montana
Region: Glacier Country
406-387-5241

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Completed in 1953, Hungry Horse Dam is Montanas'highest and the eleventh largest concrete dam in the U.S. Just a stone's throw from Glacier National Park's west entrance is the 564-foot Hungry Horse Dam and Reservoir. The project, located on the South Fork of the Flathead River, was authorized to help prevent the recurring spring floods on the Columbia and Flathead rivers and to alleviate the annual winter power shortage in the Pacific Northwest. The visitor center is located at the dam where guided tours begin. The dam and reservoir are surrounded by spectacular mountains, offering excellent fishing and hiking in the immediate area.

The Hungry Horse Project received its name from two husky freight horses working in the rugged wilderness of the Flathead River's South Fork area. They wandered away from their sleigh during the severe winter of 1900-01. After struggling for a month in belly-deep snow, they were found so starved and weak that considerable care and feeding were needed to nurse them back to health. The name Hungry Horse stuck and was given to a mountain, a lake, a creek, the dam and the project.

Guided tours of the dam start at the Visitor Center. Tours begin in the middle of June. The tours are available every hour on the hour, seven days a week. Tours will not be given on Holidays; however, the Visitor Center will remain open on these days. Parking is allowed only in designated areas and not on top of the dam roadway. The Visitor Center will close before Labor Day on Sept. 4.

Admission to the Visitor Center and guided tour program are free.

Directions: A short drive off Highway 2 in Hungry Horse.

Hungry Horse Dam
Highway 2, Hungry Horse, MT 59919

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