We were wowed not only by the history of the place, but more so by the Remount Depot's ongoing use and service. We arrived unannounced on a Friday afternoon and were given a personal tour of most of the buildings -- the forge for making horseshoes, the saddle building where each mule gets its own made-to-fit sawbuck, the loft where wildland firefighters keep their gear ready to go, and so much more. Fortunately we were visiting at a quiet moment -- it can occasionally be busy with mule packs arriving or departing, or firefighters undergoing training -- so we got the full tour without interrupting anyone. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit to a piece of American CCC history that is still very much alive.

This historic ranger station is just under a half hour drive from Missoula and is an interesting place to visit. It includes the story of the Forest Service use of mules, an active forest fire fighting ranger station, and a pleasant walking trail that is about a mile from the visitors center.The mule service is covered by a self guided walking tour taking you around the depot plus a visitors center (closed for renovations while I was there (June 2021) but should be open next month). The tour covers the different areas that were used for the mules such as the corrals, blacksmith shop, barn, and scales. Unfortunately, you cannot enter the buildings because they are in use today for the active ranger station.About a mile from the station is the Grand Menard Discovery Trail, which is a nice walk through a forest of Douglas-Fir and Ponderosa Pines. The trail is about a mile long and and a trail map is available at the visitors center.

The whole nine-mile area is amazing in history. This ranger station is an historic ranch where the Forest Service mules are raised. If you go on up the Nine-Mile you will come to a Water Restoration on the river. It is a reclamation project with Trout Unlimited. You have to arrange to have the tour, but a guide will show you where the water is being reclaimed from all the mining that was done in the 1930's. They are bringing back the fish as well as the natural surroundings. A fascinating area to get the first-hand experience in what is a major part of the history of Montana. Enjoy and bring the kids. Judy Helm Wright--Author/Blogger/Intuitive Wise Woman

Enjoyed visiting this with my mother and sister-in-law. The ranger/guide was very knowledgeable on the history of the ranger station, and since we were the only ones there at the time, got a personal guided tour. Loved the old buildings which were in remarkable condition. Summer hours you can go inside the buildings, but during the off-season months the visitor center is not open, but you can do a self-guided tour.

The visitor center was closed but they have a well done self guided tour. We were glad we drove out to see the center and the mules in residence. We also went further up the hill to see the old CCC site - also worth the drive.