‘Business is excellent’

Upbeat recreation season keeps Wolf Creek’s entrepreneurs busy.
Wolf Creek is a small town with big business, and the business is recreation. According to the local entrepreneurs, the
2002 season is great.

By Janice Brzoticky, IR Staff Writer

“Business is excellent, with improvement over prior years,” said Paul Beister, owner of the Canyon Store. “This has been
a relatively trouble-free year — no fires or drought, and things of that nature. Everybody’s out and about, and have, by
and large, been in a good mood. They seem to be more positive.”
The “season” for most Wolf Creek businesses begins around May, sometimes earlier, and continues into October. By the
time the peak month of July hits, the gradual build up of business has prepared everyone for the non-stop, high speed,
frantic job that can sometimes resemble controlled chaos.

It’s all business on Recreation Road in Wolf Creek.
The tiny business district offers services ranging from guided fly fishing trips provided by Wolf Creek Outfitters and
Montana River Outfitters to dining at the Oasis Bar and Café. Visitors can gas up their cars, find food, lodging, or
groceries, and even check their e-mail over a cup of gourmet coffee at the Cyber Stop Café.

The Frenchman and Me can also provide the kind of small town hospitality that Wolf Creek is famous for to the hungry or
thirsty wayfarer who turns onto the only street connecting the two “main streets” and crosses under Interstate 15.
These companies’ “CEOs” and their employees provide customer service to thousands of visitors each year.“The lion’s
share happens between May and September, said Craig Madsen, owner of Montana River Outfitters. The rest of the time
we spend trying to get prepared for the next year, doing marketing or rebuilding, remodeling and repairing — spending
money.”

“This has been a good year for us,” added Tara Werner, owner of the Oasis Bar and Café. “There seems to be a lot of
new people.”
“A few weeks ago, the Helena Cycle Club came through, about 70 of them. The whole parking lot was packed,” said
Werner. “It’s events like that that are a welcome boost to our already busy season.”
In addition to being a magnet for many fun seekers visiting the area, Wolf Creek appears to be a sort of “crossroads” for
travelers with other destinations.

“We get the gamut,” said Beister. “People going fishing, camping, boating, people coming from Canada, or going between
Yellowstone Park and Glacier National Park. The people come from all over the country and all over the world.
“We’ve had them come from Japan, Germany and Australia. And lots of them from Montana. Plus people just going from
Helena to Great Falls and the other way around, in addition to the locals. It’s fun in the summertime,” he added.
Wolf Creek is located less than five miles from the Upper Missouri River, which local outfitters boast to be one of
Montana’s premiere blue-ribbon fisheries.

“Most of my customers are from out of state, probably 90 percent of them during the summer,” said Dan Kelly, owner of
Wolf Creek Outfitters. “There are also a ton of people who come from Helena, Great Falls, Missoula and even Bozeman to
fish the Missouri earlier in the year.”
The Missouri River is standing up this year to the reputation that has made it famous.

“The river is in great shape. It’s at a historical high with around 6,000 catchable trout per mile over 12 inches. That’s a
lot. Each year, all I’m seeing is huge fish in great shape,” said Kelly.
And only five miles farther upstream on the “Mighty Mo” is Holter Lake, where campers, boaters, fishermen,
water-skiers, and personal water craft users flock to the water in the summer heat.
“I think every year sees more people on the river and on this (Holter) lake,” said Randy Walker, owner of the Holter Lake
Lodge. “This river has always been a big draw, but the lake is a bigger draw than what I really gave it credit. It’s a
clean, deep water lake that people can really enjoy.”

The Boat Loft located on Holter Lake has new owners this year. They are also enjoying the busy summer season.
“I like it, said Mark Liggett, part-owner of the Boat Loft. “Everyone is happy and out to have a good time. This is a nice
area. The people are great.”
Customers stopping in the Wolf Creek area are the “lifeblood” of the businesses. The revenue generated between May
and September is what they depend on to get them through the rest of the months.
“People don’t realize businesses are the ones who employ people and keep the wheels turning,” said Madsen. “They’re
the ones that apply the grease to this thing and the glue that keeps it together. Who better to take care of a resource
than those people whose livelihood is directly relied upon.”

Walker said in his business, a good indicator of how the business is doing is how the motel is booked.
“I already have three quarters of July booked for next year, and two Lewis and Clark things and a bicycle tour scheduled
for 2004. And for the past two years, each next year’s reservations are climbing,” he said.
This is the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Beister about owning a business in Wolf Creek. Most people said, ‘Gee, you
got a lot of guts,’ or ‘Gee, are you out of your mind?’ I’m glad we made this decision, I can’t imagine working for
someone else.”

http://www.helenair.com/business/1E1.html