Jeff Schmerker
Singletrack in Ninemile
This is smooth, fun, totally empty single track just 30 minutes from downtown Misosula! Lolo National Forest has marked and mapped bike routes north of the historic Ninemile Ranger Station on a combination of little-used single track and mostly quiet dirt roads. Though the routes are not marked on the Lolo's web page, they do appear on a mountain bike booklet the forest has published and which is available in bike shops in Missoula. Park at the Ninemile Ranger Station then head north and west toward Kreis Pond, then west toward Butler Creek, and finally south and east along the main Ninemile Valley road, looking for diamond-shaped bike signs along the way.
Plan on a 19-mile loop with a bit more than 2,000 vertical feet of total climbing -- pretty mellow for these parts. The single track is smooth and non-technical, and winds through rarely-seen forests, some of which have been selectively logged. On a hot day you can cool off in Kreis Pond or in swimming holes along the Ninemile road.
Read more
![](https://images.mnstatic.com/34/f7/34f7e4b69b7c4350cf4c05fe66064004.jpg?quality=75&format=png&fit=crop&width=65&height=65&aspect_ratio=65%3A65)