Outdoors in Montana

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outdoors in Montana : the essentials

Hiking in Missoula

Sam Braxton National Recreation Trail

Ask around Missoula about where to go biking, and you’re likely hear the name Sam Braxton come up. Braxton was an enthusiastic loc

Hiking in Missoula

Rattlesnake Trail

“The Rattlesnake” is in a lot of ways Missoula’s backyard – it’s both a social spot and a kind of city park. You can find walkers,

Hiking in Lolo

Skookum Butte

Skookum Butte is fun enough just to say – it’s pronounced “Skoo-come” – but it’s also pretty fun to visit, too, and there’s a nice

Lakes in Seeley Lake

Lake Alva

Alva is one in a long chain of lakes encompassing the headwaters of the Clearwater River, a major tributary of Blackfoot. The lake

Nature Reserves in Clinton

Welcome Creek Wilderness

Congress passed the Wilderness Act in 1964, and since then millions of acres have been protected. One of the least known of those

Nature Reserves in Heron

Ross Creek Giant Cedars

Western red cedars are rare in the Northern Rockies – mostly these giants live along the super wet coasts of Oregon. Washington, a

Lakes in Seeley Lake

Rainy Lake

Somehow we’d missed Rainy Lake, even though I’d driven by it dozens of times headed north into the Swan or south into the Seeley.

Lakes in Saint Ignatius

Turqouise Lake

Turquoise Lake is one of the most exceptional and beautiful spots in Montana – and that’s saying something. It’s also a haul to ge

Lakes in Libby

Leigh Lake

The Cabinet Mountains of far Northwest Montana are largely preserved as wilderness. These high summits hold grizzlies, lofty peaks

Lakes in Eureka

Paradise Lake

Paradise? Well I guess that depends on who is doing the defining, but this tiny alpine lake is certainly nice by anyone’s reckonin

Hiking in Browning

Ptarmigan Tunnel

Most of the backcountry in Glacier National Park is close to untouched, which makes the Ptarmigan Tunnel all the more interesting.

Nature Reserves in Arlee

Stuart Peak

Stuart Peak is the second highest point visible from the Missoula Valley and a long hike by any measure. The main way up the peak

Nature Reserves in Bonner

Gold Creek

While it's fairly well-known that you can easily pay $5 and grab a tree-cutting permit from the Lolo or Bitterrot national forests

Lakes in Seeley Lake

Glacier Lake

Glacier Lake is an outstanding and beautiful lake in the Mission Mountains; it's slightly down-canyon from Turquoise Lake, which I

Hiking in Big Sky

Lone Peak Expedition

Summer is the only time of year when you can experience the Lone Peak Expedition. Ride the chair lifts halfway to the top of Lone

Hiking in Bozeman

M Trail

Well, University of Montana and Montana State University fans can argue ad infinitum about whose school has a better “M” trail, bu

Rivers in Seeley Lake

Clearwater Canoe Trail

This trail is well signed, but don’t bother with hiking boots. The Clearwater Canoe Trail takes paddlers on a lazy 3.5 mile float

Skiing in Red Lodge

Lake Fork

Despite how tantalizing and huge the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness is, there are precious few ways to access it, especially in win