Lee Metcalf Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service;Bureau of Land Management
13,693 acres9.8 mi of trail
Bear Basin189 Gallatin Peak TrailJack Creek TrailCedar Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Greg Gjerdingen · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Big Sky
49% of Big Sky’s land is conserved: 37,632 acres
174 miles of mapped trail cross Big Sky, 1.5 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Lee Metcalf Wilderness (9.8 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
49%
37,632 acres · of 120.0 sq mi of land
Trails
174 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
13 ac
5.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.2 mi
9.2 mi paths
Highest peak
11,145 ft
Lone Mountain
Lakes & rivers
11
What kind of outdoors town is Big Sky?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Sky have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Sky is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Sky’s overall grade.
Conserved land49% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (174 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (13 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home45% of residents within a half mile of a park · MT 91% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Big Sky’s 49% is ahead of 95% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Lee Metcalf Wilderness, with 9.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gallatin Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
131 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Golden Stone Park - South
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Lee Metcalf Wilderness13,693 acres · 9.8 mi of trail · United States Forest Service;Bureau of Land Management
Gallatin Wildlife Management Area131 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Golden Stone Park - South1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTown Center Park2 acres
DirectionsGolden Stone Park - North1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
37,632 conserved acres
49% of Big Sky’s land. Who manages Big Sky’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service32,667 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5,111 ac
State fish & wildlife131 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government4 ac
National Forest · 32,408 acUnknown Easement · 3,587 acRanch Easement · 1,478 acConservation Easement · 306 acState Conservation Area · 131 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5,089 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallatin National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 29,835 | Open |
| Beaverhead National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 2,573 | Open |
| Gallatin Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 131 | Restricted |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Unknown |
Things to do
16 places to go in Big Sky
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Sky
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Big Sky
Scenic Overlook
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Big Sky
Lone Mountain11,145 ft elevation
DirectionsWilson Peak10,495 ft elevation · In Lee Metcalf Wilderness
DirectionsCastle Rock10,311 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Chipperfield9,938 ft elevation
DirectionsAndesite Mountain8,730 ft elevation
DirectionsBrainstorm Knob8,542 ft elevation
DirectionsFlatiron Mountain8,092 ft elevation
DirectionsSpirit Mountain8,028 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Big Sky
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 29.3 miUnpaved · 49.5 mi
Bear Basin6.2 mi
Buck Creek Ridge Trail5.3 mi
Mountain to Meadow4.4 mi
Cinnamon Buck Trail3.4 mi
First Yellow Mule Trail3.2 mi
Jack Creek Trail3.2 mi
Coolridge3.1 mi
Blowout2.8 mi
Reflector Trail2.5 mi
Moose Tracks2.4 mi
15 more trails
Lodge Loop
2.4 miJeep Trail
2.2 miChallenger
2.1 miSecond Yellow Mule Trail
2.1 miFs 2697
1.9 miLower Buck Ridge Trail
1.9 miMTM Climb
1.7 miFS 314
1.5 miUplands Trail
1.4 miCrail Ranch Trail
1.4 miThimbleberry
1.3 miElkhorn Spur
1.3 mi189 Gallatin Peak Trail
1.3 miElkhorn Loop
1.2 miOusel Falls Trail
1.0 miBiking & sports
9.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
2Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Sky: July to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 48 | 58 | 67 | 78 | 77 | 67 | 52 | 37 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 2.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Big Sky →
Questions about parks and trails in Big Sky
Where can I hike in Big Sky?
The longest trail networks: Lee Metcalf Wilderness, 9.8 miles; Gallatin Wildlife Management Area, 0.1 miles; Golden Stone Park - South, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Sky is conserved land?
49% of its land, against a typical 10% for a Montana town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Big Sky’s trails?
Lee Metcalf Wilderness and Gallatin Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Sky?
9.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Sky?
91,041 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Sky or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,145 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Sky have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Big Sky neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →