The 5,500-acre Blue Mountain Recreation Area, just two miles southwest of Missoula, is another close-to-town area to explore. The Lolo National Forest worked closely with Missoula-area recreation ...

Few communities enjoy a place quite like the 60,000-acre Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness just north of Missoula. Here, you'll find a variety of hiking, backpacking, horseback ...

Elevation gain: 620 feet to "M" (from 3,200 feet to 3,820). 1,958 feet to top of Mount Sentinel (3,200 feet to 5,158) The "M" on the west face of Mount Sentinel has been a Missoula landmark since ...

Paths along the downtown riverfront are at the heart of Missoula's trail network. Walking, bicycling and, in some places, horseback-riding paths along the Clark's Fork of the Columbia River ...

Pattee Canyon has been a favorite Missoula recreation spot since the 1930s, when Civilian Conservation Corps members constructed the first picnic facilities. A downhill ski area was also in ...

When you're out on Missoula's trails, whether in town or in the national forest, remember that you are one of many traveling these pathways. If you meet other people on the trail, be considerate ...

The Fire Road traverses the face of Mount Sentinel from above the “M” south to Pattee Canyon. Access is at the south end of Maurice Avenue near the University Villages Community Center or from ...

To explore one of the less-traveled portions of the Rattlesnake, try Sheep Mountain Trail, on the Recreation Area's southern boundary. Start at the trailhead on Woods Gulch Road, east of ...

For an easygoing outing beyond the city limits, try the trail at Maclay Flat. The path is wide, level and surfaced to accommodate wheelchairs. It takes you along the Bitterroot River and through ...

Feel like getting away from it all, but don't have time to leave town? Take a walk, run, bicycle ride or horseback ride down the Kim Williams Nature Trail, the eastern-most segment of the ...

Dogs: From the southern national forest boundary north past the main trailhead to milepost 1.7 and on Ravine Trail 34, there are seasonal restrictions on pets: Dogs are not allowed from Dec. 1 to ...