Judith Gap, Montana

Judith Gap, Montana

Judith Gap is seventeen miles north of Harlowton. Its location in a gap between the Little Belt Mountains and the Snowies gave rise to the name. The gap offered the easiest way to get to the Judith Basin. Judith was once a busy grain shipping center and its roundhouse, coal chute, and water tanks are reminders of the time when it was a division point on the Great Northern. The gap in which the town sits is a funnel for northern blizzards but it was once a vital part of the route used by freighters, prospectors, cattle drivers, hunters, and settlers who passed northward in the Judith Basin or southward toward the Yellowstone of Musselshell valleys. These travelers followed the path made years before by Indian hunters and warriors seeking or defending the rich hunting round of the Judith Basin. The name came from that of the river, as named by Lewis and Clark. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)

Judith Gap is a popular hunting and fishing location, and it also offers many hiking opportunities