Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, National recreation area near Missoula, Montana.

Rattlesnake National Recreation Area is a protected area in the Rattlesnake Creek drainage about 4 miles north of Missoula, Montana, administered by Lolo National Forest and adjoining the Rattlesnake Wilderness. It covers roughly 28 square kilometers in a valley flanked by forested slopes and higher ridges. More than 73 miles of hiking trails run through it, many also open to horseback riders, mountain bikers and cross-country skiers.

The area was established as a recreation area by Congress in 1980 alongside the adjacent Rattlesnake Wilderness to protect the landscape. This legal designation aimed to prevent intensive development while allowing sustainable use of the land.

Rattlesnake Creek, which gives the area its name, runs through the drainage north of Missoula and is popular with fishermen for bull trout, cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish. Along the trails visitors may spot green comma and western tiger swallowtail butterflies, and birdwatchers can find over forty species, among them the pileated woodpecker, great grey owl, ruffed grouse and American dipper.

The area offers over 100 kilometers of hiking trails in various difficulty levels that are also used for horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing in winter. Accessibility varies by season, as higher elevations receive heavy snow and some trails open late in spring.

Shoo Fly Meadows contains one of the few Sphagnum bogs in the western United States and supports rare native orchid species within a diverse plant community. This specialized environment is accessible to visitors and offers insight into a rare ecosystem.