Gus the giant larch

Gus is a western larch that has been growing near Seeley Lake for roughly 1,000 years. In 2020 he was named the largest known western larch in the United States on the National Register of Champion Trees.¹ He stands in the Jim Girard Memorial Grove, an old-growth larch stand of about 60 acres near Boy Scout Road, west of Highway 83.¹

He is also in decline.¹ If you want to see him, go gently, and go soon.

How tall is Gus?

It depends on who measured and what they counted. The figures differ enough that it is worth laying them out:

Part of the spread comes from whether his dead top is counted.³ We use 154 feet when a single figure is needed, because that is the champion-tree listing, and note the others.

His circumference is about 22 feet 9 inches.³

How old is he, and how has he survived?

Gus is estimated at about 1,000 years old and has survived about 40 fires.^{1, 2} That record says a lot about his species. Western larch grows bark 3 to 6 inches thick, which helps the tree survive fire.³ Fire has been part of this forest for a long time: an interpretive sign at the grove says the Salish and Pend d’Oreille used low-intensity fire on the landscape.¹

Western larch is a conifer whose needles turn yellow in autumn and drop.³

Is he the world’s largest western larch?

Some coverage says so; NBC Montana’s headline calls him the world’s largest western larch.² The documented claim is narrower: in 2020 Gus was listed as the largest known western larch in the United States.¹ This guide sticks to what the champion-tree record says.

The Jim Girard Memorial Grove

Gus is the best-known tree in a grove of old-growth larch covering about 60 acres. The Montana Memory Project dates the grove’s dedication to September 13, 1953; another source gives 1952.¹ The grove’s interpretive signs are part of how the Montana Memory Project documents it.

How do I get there?

The grove is near Boy Scout Road, west of Highway 83.¹ Boy Scout Road leaves Highway 83 at about mile marker 19.5, according to a Pathfinder trail write-up for Lake Elsina and Lake Dinah, which uses the same road.⁴ This guide has not verified current turn-by-turn directions, parking or trail conditions to Gus. Before you go, check with the Seeley Lake Ranger District, 3583 Highway 83 North, 406-677-2233, open Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.⁶

When is the best time to visit?

Any snow-free season works, but autumn is the obvious choice, when the larches turn gold. Seeley Lake’s tamarack festival was held on the second Saturday of October in 2018 and 2019 (October 13 and October 12), which points to early to mid October for peak color.⁵ Color varies by year and elevation, so treat that as a guide, not a guarantee. See fall larches for more.

Gus and wildfire

Gus’s roughly 40 fires make him a living record of how this forest has burned over a millennium.^{1, 2} The most recent large fire in the valley, the 2017 Rice Ridge Fire, burned about 155,900 acres; this guide has not found a source saying whether it reached the Girard Grove, so we make no claim either way. The larch’s thick bark is one reason old trees like Gus survive fire.³

Gus at a glance

Visiting with care

Gus is old, in decline and much visited. A few simple habits help:

• Stay on established paths and avoid trampling the ground around the trunk, where the roots are.
• Do not climb on the tree, carve it or take bark.
• Pack out everything you bring in.
• This is bear country. Carry bear spray and know how to use it.

Western larch is also called tamarack around Seeley Lake, as in the name of the town’s fall festival.⁵