Author: Cecilia

Montana Wildlife Management Areas

Montana Wildlife Management Areas are searchable by ADA accessibility on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks site.   Map of the Wildlife Management Areas.  The accessibility ratings are Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Most Difficult.  There is no description of just what is meant by these.   A search for hiking trails in the wildlife management areas turns up no Easy trails.  Only two, Blue-eyed Nellie and Bull River are rated as moderate.  Try calling Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to learn more 406-444-2535.
Wheelchair AccessibleFreezeout Lake  The site claims a trail, but their brochure and bird list shows none.

Wheelchair AccessibleNinepipe Reservoir has an interpretive trail.  Call 406-644-2510 for information.

Beaverhead – Deerlodge National Forest

Beaverhead – Deerlodge National Forest
Astride the Continental Divide in southwest Montana, the 3.3-million-acre encompasses  a dozen or so mountain ranges offering a variety of recreational opportunity.    Here is the Forest website.   Phone 406-683-3900
HikerwithcaneCliff and Wade Lakes Interpretive trail  described on Montana’s Official State Travel Site as “An easy, interpretive nature walk.”  It is a  2 mile loop between Hilltop and Wade Lake Campgrounds.  Call 406-682-4253 to be sure of difficulty and conditions.

Lewis and Clark National Forest

Lewis And Clark National Forest
Here is a list of day hikes in the Forest.  There is not much information here and difficulty is not given, so be sure to call 406-791-7700 for more information before going.
HikerwithcaneSulphur Springs trail is a “3.6 mile (round trip) graveled footpath, for hikers only,…… along a relatively remote stretch of river and takes the adventurer to Sulphur Springs.”  Map  This sounds easy, but call first.

Independence

Independence
Wheelchair AccessibleGeorge Owens Nature Park  “provides 86 acres of beautiful forest, lakes, hiking trails and wildlife.”  Park naturalist Melanie suggested the following:
     The Butterfly Trail:  This trail is asphalt, ¼ mile long and fairly level although there are some gentle inclines.  The trail joins a paved road that leads to two fishing ponds.
Fishing Ponds:  The road and most areas surrounding the ponds are flat and fairly accessible, depending on the degree of disability.  There is also a wheelchair-accessible dock on one of the ponds. While we limit traffic in the park, we allow vehicles with handicap plates or mirror hangers to drive to the ponds and park nearby.
The Nature Center.  The building is accessible along with restrooms and a water fountain; and there are dedicated parking spots in the lot.

Online Learning

Try online learning: You can learn photography without having to physically get to a school. There are too many online courses to list and I know of none designed specifically for photographers with a handicap. However, the following are ideas to get you started looking for a course that suits you. Before you enroll, you might call the school to see if they will flex their assignments around your requirements.

You may find what you want from your local community college or university.  My search turned up hundreds of online photography courses, from Australia’s Open Colleges to Vancouver Island University in Canada.

One man’s list of free online photography courses: http://petapixel.com/2014/07/03/best-free-online-photography-courses-tutorials/

Five accredited American Colleges & Universities from which you can get an online photography degree: http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/degrees/art/photography

Another list of online photography courses: http://www.skilledup.com/articles/online-photography-courses-best-free/

Still another claiming the “top 5 online photography schools.”  http://photographycourse.net/schools.

Lolo National Forest

Lolo National Forest
Lolo National Forest in west central Montana is two million acres of diverse ecosystems ranging from wet, western redcedar bottoms to high alpine peaks, and forests of alpine larch and whitebark pine.  There are five ranger districtrs and two visitor centers.
Links to Day Hikes   Here is the Forest website.   Phone  406-329-3750
Page with links to brochures.
Wheelchair AccessibleMaclay Flat Nature Trail  has accessible 1.25 and 1.8  mile loops.  There are “nature trails, parking, restrooms, river access, and interpretive signs. Benches are available along the trail. The parking lot is paved and the path is gravelled. In the spring, the Bitterroot River sometimes overflows and temporarily submerges portions of the trail.” Description in Missoula Trails Guide.
Wheelchair AccessibleRattlesnake Main Trail #515 is an “old logging road so it is wide, has a relatively gentle grade for the first 9 miles, and roughly parallels Rattlesnake Creek.  ….. The main trail winds through open ground, dry forested areas, and progresses into western larch and Engelmann spruce farther up the drainage.  … Beaver dams can often be seen in Rattlesnake Creek about 5 miles up from trailhead.” There are accessible restrooms at the trailhead.  Description in Missoula Trails Guide.
HikerwithcaneSawmill Trail #24.0  1.3 miles. The trail “starts out on a wide path (old road bed) in open ground at the edge of the meadow where it is level and gentle. The trail grade then increases as it travels through the forest. ”
Wheelchair AccessibleBlue Mountain Nature Trail is a 0.25 mile interpretive loop. ” You can learn about prescribed fire, Glacial Lake Missoula, forest “recycling,” Montana’s state tree, and about lichen, kinnikinnick, nine-bark, serviceberry and many other plants. …..Midway down the trail, you’ll come upon a rock outcrop where there’s a vista of distant mountains, the Missoula Valley and the Bitterroot River winding toward its confluence with the Clark Fork. There is wheelchair access from the trailhead to this viewing area.”