Recreation

Liberty County has a wide variety of recreational opportunities ranging from hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking to playing or watching sports. Lake Elwell/Tiber Dam-Located South of Chester on the Marias River, one of the largest lakes in Montana, attracts fishermen and boaters from all over. Walleye, pike, and perch are plentiful. Two boat ramps and docks make water play easy. Tiber Marina-Located on the North shore of Lake Elwell, offers a convenience store, restaurant, and bait shop. Restrooms and showers are also available. Tiber Dam, completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1956, lies 13 miles south and six miles west of Chester. It is one of the Missouri River Basin projects, used for flood control, storage, retention of silt, and preservation of wildlife. Lake Elwell, created by the dam, covers some 20 square miles in Liberty County.  http://www.usbr.gov/gp/recreation/lerrec.htm

Sandford Park – Located on the Marias River below Tiber Dam, offers a campground with shelters and well-equipped restrooms and an RV waste station. A small launch ramp is located on the river for rafting and canoeing. VFW Park – Located next to Lake Elwell, has close, easy access to the newly repaved boat ramp making it a water player’s favorite. Its facilities include toilets, fire rings, and picnic tables. The Marias River is 20 miles south of Chester and offers a beautiful floating experience. The river winds through the Brinkman Reserve and eventually empties into the Missouri River.  The Marias River – runs through Northern Montana and Liberty County. It holds vast fishing, rafting, and canoeing opportunities. Trout fishing in the Marias is the best of any place in the state.

Hunting, fishing and hiking is available almost anywhere in Montana and the area around Chester has great opportunities for all of the above.

CJI Sports Complex – Located in Chester, is the site for many sporting activities. The lighted field is the home of high school football games in the fall and baseball games for all ages and skill levels in the summer. The local horseshoe club maintains a horseshoe pitching court within the complex.

Chester Memorial Swimming Pool – Located in Chester, is open from late May through August of each year.  The pool is a new facility that was built with donations and grants by the Hi-Line Pool and Rec Foundation. The Foundation then turned the facility over to the Town to operate and maintain. A summer swim team includes many talented young swimmers and a Federation swim meet is held here each summer. Swim lessons are also provided each year.