TRGS  Tobacco Root Geological Society    |    Since 1973

View southwest overlooking the Bannack town center. Photo by Jesse Mosolf.

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Bannack Area Details, Conference Schedule, and Registration

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This year’s Annual Tobacco Root Geological Society Field Conference will be held in Bannack Montana. The conference check-in opens on late Thursday afternoon (July 24) with conference activities beginning Friday morning (July 25) and lasting through Sunday afternoon (July 27).

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The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG) is wrapping up two long-term mapping projects in the Dillon and Wisdom 30’x60’ quadrangles. The field conference will showcase this work and will provide an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback on the mapping. The Dillon and Wisdom areas are home to spectacular landscapes and a tremendous diversity of geology, including Archean-Proterozoic metamorphic rocks and associated talc deposits, Belt Supergroup strata, faulted and folded Phanerozoic sequences, Cretaceous-Cenozoic igneous rocks and associate mineralization, the Anaconda Detachment System, Tertiary volcano-sedimentary deposits and extensional faults, alpine glaciation, Quaternary geology and related geohazards, and more. The scheduled field trips will touch on many aspects of the region’s wonderfully complicated geology. Additionally, tours exploring Bannack’s colorful mining history and archeology will be offered.

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This announcement provides information on the meeting schedule and events, lodging, and meals. Catered dinners will be offered at Bannack on Friday and Saturday nights, and sacked lunches will be provided to registered field trip participants.  If you plan on eating the catered meals, please register by July 4th, 2025, so we can get a head count and plan accordingly.. Please note that you must make or obtain your own breakfast and coffee/tea. Group camping at Bannack will be available with limited amenities. Please bring water if you plan to camp. If you stay elsewhere, budget plenty of time to reach Bannack to catch your field trip group. If you are staying in a motel, book early – tourist season in the greater Dillon area can get busy.

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On-site meeting registration and conference venue​

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Our primary venue will be the group site pavilion located on the south side of Grasshopper Creek (marked on the map below). Evening research talks and posters will be in the church. Parking can be found in the lots near the visitor center, pavilion, and east side of the town center (marked as blue dots on the map). Note the Bannack Road accesses the group site pavilion, east parking lot, and dispersed camping areas, all of which will be marked with signage.

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Conference registration and check-in will begin late Thursday afternoon at the group site pavilion. The state park entrance fee for non-residents is included with the registration. Poster presenters are encouraged to check-in and set-up in the church before the meeting begins Friday morning.

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​​Camping and Lodging

The Road Agent Campground near the pavilion has been reserved for group camping, which will be the most suitable area for tent camping. You are encouraged to share campsites, accommodating as many campers as possible. Additional on-site dispersed camping will be offered east of the town center. This area has shade but is generally a flat gravel lot with little grass – tent camping is possible, but van/truck bed camping is recommended. Amenities will generally be limited to porta-potties and water. The pavilion has power for charging electronic devices. Potable water is available in Bannack, but campers are encouraged to bring water. Camping is first-come-first-serve, and a fee of $9 per person or $18 per vehicle will be collected on-site.

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If you prefer to camp elsewhere, the Bannack area is surrounded by vast public lands with many campgrounds and dispersed camping options, including those along the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway (Highway 73). Camping and recreational information for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/beaverhead-deerlodge

Hotel rooms and cabins are available in Dillon, Jackson Hot Springs, and Elkhorn Hot Springs, all within a 30-minute drive of Bannack. Dillon has several restaurant and grocery options. More information on dining and lodging in Dillon can be found here: https://www.visitdillonmt.com/

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2025 BANNACK CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

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THURSDAY evening (July 24) – Group Site Pavilion

4:00–7:00        Conference check-in and registration; set-up posters in church

FRIDAY (July 25) – Ceremonial opening, half-day field trips, and research presentations

7:30–8:30        TRGS check-in / registration / light refreshments

8:30–9:30        Opening remarks and general TRGS business

9:30–10:00      Field trip prep: pick-up sack lunches, coordinate vehicles, load coolers

10:00–5:00      Field trips

6:00–7:00        Catered dinner at the pavilion

7:00–9:00        Geologic overview and research presentations in the church

Field trips:

1. High Divide Minerals Talc Mine Tour (Lance Spencer and others)—road stops only. Participants are encouraged to bring PPEs. No open-toe footwear is allowed; steel-toed boots are recommended. The tour is limited to 20 people. Carpooling is encouraged.

2. Tilted Tertiary Section at Mill Point Near Bannack (Jeff Lonn and Colleen Elliott)—approximately four miles of rugged off-trail hiking, gaining 1,000 vertical feet. Minimal shade or water.

3. Bannack Archeological Tour and the Hendricks/Apex Mill (Mitzi Rossillon and John Phillips)—easy to moderate walking around the Bannack area.

4. Bannack State Park to Badger Pass, Montana: Placer Gold and Cenozoic Landscape Evolution (Jim Sears)—mostly road stops with easy walking.

SATURDAY (July 26) – Full-day field trips, map blast, poster session

7:30–8:30        Field trip prep: pick up sack lunches, coordinate vehicles, load coolers

8:30–5:00        Field trips

6:00–7:00        Catered dinner at the pavilion

7:00–9:00        Map blast and poster session at the church

Field trips:

1. Indian Queen Mine, Utopia Mining District, Southern Pioneer Mountains (Kyle Eastman and Catherine McDonald)—road stops and an approximately 2-mile roundtrip hike that involves a short, steep climb over uneven terrain.

2. Geology of Bannack State Park and the Ermont Thrust System (Jesse Mosolf, Tom Kalakay, and Ray Salazar)—up to five miles of moderate to strenuous road and off-trail hiking, climbing over 1,000 vertical feet with no shade or water.

3. Fault, Fold, and Cleavage Duplexes of Sandy Hollow (Stuart Parker and Steve Boyer)—road stops and approximately two miles of moderate off-trail hiking with no shade or water.

4. Reconstructing the Timing of Quaternary Glaciation in the Pioneer Mountains (Spruce Schoenemann)—road stops and a moderate 1.5-mile roundtrip hike up a glacial moraine, with a short, steep approach over the terminus. 

SUNDAY (July 28) – Final day of field trips and conference close

7:30–8:30        Field trip prep: pick up sack lunches, coordinate vehicles, load coolers

8:30–5:00        Field trips

5:00–7:00        Optional meet-up for pizza and beverages in Sheridan

Field trips:

1. Neogene Sixmile Creek Formation in the Upper Ruby Valley (Dan Brennan)—road stops with some easy walking.

2. Chalk Bluff: From Cordilleran Syntectonic Plutonism through Cenozoic Formation of the Upper Big Hole Valley Basin (Colleen Elliott)—road stops and easy one-mile hike.  

3. Eocene Volcanic Rocks in Beaverhead Canyon (Jesse Mosolf and Ray Salazar)—several road stops and two moderate off-trail hikes up to one mile long.

4. Geohazards and Groundwater in Virginia City (Mandy Willingham, Andy Bobst, and Yann Gavillot)—road stops with an optional trail hike at the end of the trip to see large landslides in the Axolotl Lake area. 

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REGISTRATION

Registration for the meeting includes a hard copy of 2025 Northwest Geology, edited by Colleen Elliott and Alan English. Questions about the field conference, accommodations, or volunteering should be sent to Jesse Mosolf (jmosolf@mtech.edu). Additional conference information may be posted on the TRGS webpage (http://trgs.org) or the TRGS Facebook page.
 

REGISTER BY MAIL: Complete the enclosed registration form and pay by check (postmark by
July 17). Send to: Tobacco Root Geological Society, P.O. Box 118, Butte, Montana 59703-0118.

REGISTER ONLINE: Online registration opens on June 20 at www.trgs.org. After registration opens, complete the online registration form and send a check for registration fees to Tobacco Root Geological Society, P.O. Box 118, Butte, Montana 59703-0118 or pay by PayPal. Please be sure to print your completed registration form before you submit your responses. Please complete the online registration form no later than July 15 so that we can accurately plan for lunches and food.

Online registration is the preferred method for accurate attendee contact information, trip registration, and meal counts.

Reminder: No breakfasts or coffee are offered during this conference!

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All field trip participants, including leaders, must register for the conference. Field trip leaders do not need to pay for the field trip(s) they are leading. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday field trip registration comes with lunch.

Please note that there are two places on the form where you can contribute to the scholarship fund of the TRGS – by purchasing a conference T-shirt or by making a direct contribution to scholarships.

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