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Twenty-two miles southwest of Laurel, Montana on U.S. 212, I entered Boyd, Montana. There I turned right onto Boyd County Road at the sign for the Cooney Reservoir. I drove 8 miles down a narrow two-lane road to the north entrance of the Cooney Reservoir Recreation Area. The Montana state self-pay system allows you to make a day-use payment by putting $5.00 into a small green envelope provided and dropping it into the slot in the box. You can also purchase an annual sticker which covers the entire state of Montana and eliminates the need to pay each time.
I had my annual Montana State Park sticker displayed in the lower left windshield of my SUV, so I drove around to to the west side of the reservoir to find the boat ramp in an unshaded area. It was 92 degrees and the heat was blazing. Putting in at the boat ramp would have been a bit difficult because of its steep grade so I used the grassy area on the edge of the boat ramp. There were several water-skiers on the reservoir so I had to be aware of sudden wakes. The boaters were courteous enough but I found myself hugging the shoreline quite a bit.
This is a very beautiful paddle mainly because of the view of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains in the distance. The elevation at Cooney Reservoir is 4,240 feet. I ate my picnic lunch under the one shade tree that I could find on shore then headed back to continue my journey up the Beartooth Highway.
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