The Best Trails in Montana (United States)

Apgar Lookout Trail

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Hiking

Suzi Wood

with

Distance

7.20mi

Elevation +

1850f

TrailRank

51

Down and back 3.6 miles each way through beautiful regerated forest with spectacular mountain views. Enjoy the views at the top from the fire lookout tower of the mountains, forest and lake.

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Glacier NP Grinnell Glacier

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Hiking

bertismo

Distance

7.50mi

Elevation +

1811f

TrailRank

39

Beautiful hike to Grinnel Glacier. We went with a ranger and it was great, we learnt a lot about geology, alpine flowers and bears! It takes more time, but it is worth it.The easiest way is taking the boat across Swiftcu...

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Idaho Centennial Trail day 31: From close to Craddock Creek to I-90 (exit point Mullan/Wallace for resupply)

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Hiking

gryfolge

Distance

30.31mi

Elevation +

5131f

TrailRank

38

Another wonderful leg on the Stateline (Idaho/Montana) road and trail, with lots of ascending/descending and good views. The highlight of today’s hike was the climb up to Stevens Peak with a stunning panorama. After Stev...

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Glacier NP Iceberg Lake

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Hiking

bertismo

Distance

9.47mi

Elevation +

1283f

TrailRank

38

Beautiful hike to Iceberg Lake. We went with a ranger and it was great, we learnt a lot about geology, alpine flowers and bears! It takes more time, but it is worth it. This is bear country, so it is recommended going wi...

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Avalanche Trail (plus)

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Hiking

erezn

Distance

8.51mi

Elevation +

899f

TrailRank

37

We did this trail during 2020 summer when the East part of the Glacier NP was closed due to COVID-19. The Avalanche trail is really busy for that reason as many families are looking for beautiful hikes which are reasonab...

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Idaho Centennial Trail day 33: Pear Lake to Porcupine Pass

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Hiking

gryfolge

Distance

32.75mi

Elevation +

5446f

TrailRank

37

From Pear Lake you’ll hike in some good trails through the nice green woods. The trail then goes up on the ridge - equals good views. Lots of ascending/descending on the Stateline trail/road and Bitterroot Range on this ...

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Idaho Centennial Trail day 28: From tiny lake before Fish Lake to saddle above Missoula Lake

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Hiking

gryfolge

Distance

29.87mi

Elevation +

7100f

TrailRank

37

First you’ll be ascending a bit before the trail then drops you down to Fish Lake where there’s a lot of good campsites. From there the ICT goes along the Stateline and The Bitterroot Mountain Range; lots of ascending an...

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Idaho Centennial Trail day 30: From saddle above Missoula Lake to close to Craddock Creek

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Hiking

gryfolge

Distance

34.53mi

Elevation +

5079f

TrailRank

36

A leg on really nice trails - up and down on the Bitterroot ridge with amazing panoramic views. As you walk the ridges you get to look down at the pristine lakes below the ridgeline. NB: Be aware of the trailjunction at ...

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Hidden Lake Overlook Trail

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Hiking

Suzi Wood

Distance

2.78mi

Elevation +

604f

TrailRank

36

1.5 mile trail to Hidden Lake Overlook with good chance of mountain goat sightings and views of the mountains surrounding Logan Pass visitor center.

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Grinnell Glacier

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Hiking

Rick W

Distance

11.69mi

Elevation +

2244f

TrailRank

35

This was our favorite hike in Glacier (so far). The scenery is outstanding and the ice was fun to see. There is a place on the hike where we had to go directly under a waterfall. We got wet and so did everybody else. It ...

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Virginia Falls

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Hiking

Dean Johnston

Distance

6.13mi

Elevation +

764f

TrailRank

34

Easy, scenic hike with lots of waterfalls. The extra part from Sun Point to St Mary parking lot has the best lake and mountain views.

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Lake Josephine and Grinnell, Glacier NP, MT

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Hiking

agonort

Distance

8.37mi

Elevation +

335f

TrailRank

34

I didn’t like Grinnell Lake very much. The trail is easy and kind of boring under the trees without any views. I highly recommend instead doing just the loop around the Josephine lake, west side first, coming back to the...

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Idaho Centennial Trail day 32: From I -90 to Pear Lake

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Hiking

gryfolge

Distance

17.85mi

Elevation +

4757f

TrailRank

34

First the ICT takes you onto a paved road passing the nice and green Shoshone Park, and further on, to the Fish Hatchery. Once at the Fish Hatchery fork left onto a dirt road. This will run you up the valley along the Li...

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Lake Como Trail #502

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Hiking

WizBang

Distance

8.46mi

Elevation +

423f

TrailRank

34

Wow! This was a really beautiful trail that runs around the whole of Lake Como. We saw three great waterfalls along the way and some of the most amazing scenery. The lake is gorgeous and with the surrounding mountains ca...

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Grinnell Glacier / Josephine loop

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Hiking

Dean Johnston

Distance

11.19mi

Elevation +

2192f

TrailRank

34

The regular Grinnell Glacier hike but then we looped around Lake Josephine just to mix it up. Views are much better on the north side. Considerable uphill but mostly pretty gradual, well worth the incredible views.

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Meadowlark Mobile Home Park

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Hiking

stacyjourdain

Distance

4.16mi

Elevation +

650f

TrailRank

34

A great trail for family and avid hikers. There’s about 20 different trails. on the family trails you can easily take a running stroller with kids. You could hike as much as 1 mile or you could do 10 miles

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Two Medicine Lake loop and Twin Falls, Glacier NP, MT

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Hiking

agonort

Distance

10.23mi

Elevation +

787f

TrailRank

33

Easy trail. A lot of shade and wildflowers. Be aware I lost the path twice... don’t repeat the same mistake :-)

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McDonald Lodge to Upper McDonald Creek

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Hiking

Rick W

Distance

9.30mi

Elevation +

502f

TrailRank

32

Because the shuttle didn't stop at Johnson's Lake, we walked the extra mile and half from the lodge. That part of the trail is a horse trail and smells like it, too. Also, you will have to avoid the horse droppings. Ther...

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Highline Trail - Glacier National Park 21 km

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Hiking

Natslittletrails

Distance

13.60mi

Elevation +

3258f

TrailRank

32

The Highline Trail starts at Logan Pass parking lot and its length is about 21.5 km. There are many point views along the way but I must highlight the following: Swiftcurrent Glacier - It is a 1.73 km uphill hike. The g...

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Shangri-La and Iceberg Lake Loop - Glacier National Park

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Alpine Climbing

NDjason

Distance

9.54mi

Elevation +

2336f

TrailRank

31

Off-trail hike to make a loop out of the Iceberg Lake Trail in the Many Glacier region of Glacier National Park. The loop starts from the Swiftcurrent Pass trailhead in the Swiftcurrent Camp Store parking lot. Start out ...

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RUN THE RUT

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Trail Running

Krunge

Distance

31.34mi

Elevation +

9337f

TrailRank

30

www.runtherut.com The spectacular and rugged terrain of southwest Montana brought to you in the tradition of European Alps-style racing, The Rut is a celebration of world-class racing with a little Montana flare. T...

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Blair Lake

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Horseback Riding

Portneuf River Back Country Horsemen at prbch.org

Distance

8.64mi

Elevation +

1890f

TrailRank

30

Milage above is one way. I would recommend the alternate trailhead. The Continental Divide Trail "CDT" route from Red Rock Pass is not particularly interesting and has some risky spots. The first caution icon is place...

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Nelson Lake Trail, Montana

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Hiking

WizBang

Distance

3.67mi

Elevation +

1637f

TrailRank

30

Soo disappointed :-( We had heard about the Nelson Lake forest fire before we went on holiday, so wanted to see what damage had been done. We also wanted to see the lake as we had read it was worth the effort to get to ...

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Highline to Loop with Garden Wall

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Hiking

Rick W

Distance

13.49mi

Elevation +

2694f

TrailRank

30

We were able to catch the shuttle to Logan Pass. Took this trail the the Granite Park Chalet. We went up the Garden Wall to the overview of Grinnel Glacier. From the chalet we took the Loop trail down to the road and pic...

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Falls Hike

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Hiking

Rick W

Distance

7.39mi

Elevation +

692f

TrailRank

30

We were able to take the shuttle to the starting point, walk down to the first couple of falls, and then walk out to the other falls, down along the lake to Sun Point, where the shuttle picked us up. Part of the trail se...

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