Welcome to Hungry Horse, Montana

  • Local Businesses

    Photo courtesy: Bill Kuney

  • Hungry Horse Dam

    Photo courtesy: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

  • Hungry Horse Reservoir

    Photo courtesy: John Ansotegui

  • Local Area

    Photo courtesy: MTOT

Hungry Horse is in the northwest corner of the state, at the edge of the reservoir formed by Hungry Horse Dam. It is surrounded by spectacular mountains and is a stone's throw away from Glacier National Park's west entrance and the famed Going-To-The-Sun Road .This small community offers lodging, family restaurants and souvenirs.

Hungry Horse 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.

Completed in 1953, Hungry Horse Dam is Montana's highest dam at 564 feet and the eleventh largest concrete dam in the U.S. 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, hunting and hiking in the immediate area.