Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Managed by National Park Service
17 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Deer Lodge
10% of Deer Lodge’s land is conserved: 101 acres
1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Deer Lodge, 0.8 per square mile of land. 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 47 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #19 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
101 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
47 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Deer Lodge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Deer Lodge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Deer Lodge is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #19 of 42 in Montana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Deer Lodge’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (47 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home84% of residents within a half mile of a park · MT 91% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 56%
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Deer Lodge’s 10% is ahead of 54% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 51% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
MT Corrections
Managed by Montana Department of Corrections
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
101 conserved acres
10% of Deer Lodge’s land. Who manages Deer Lodge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government73 ac
Town or city33 ac
Other state land15 ac
National Park Service12 ac
County1 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land1 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 73 acLocal Park · 35 acNot Designated · 15 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 11 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 73 | Unknown |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 11 | Restricted |
| State of Montana Not Designated | Other state land | 11 | Unknown |
| Montana Department of Corrections Not Designated | Other state land | 4 | Closed |
| County Court Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Deer Lodge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Deer Lodge
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Deer Lodge
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
3Baseball
3Softball
1Football
1Soccer
1Skate park
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
★
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic SiteNational Historic Landmark · District · listed 1972
About itMontana Territorial and State PrisonDistrict · listed 1976
About itKohrs, William K., Free Memorial LibraryBuilding · listed 1979
About itWilliam E. Coleman HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itNick J. Bielenberg HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itTrask HallBuilding · listed 1982
About itDeer Lodge American Women's League Chapter HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itPrison Brickyard Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1988
About itRialto TheaterBuilding · listed 1998
About itGrant-Kohrs Ranch/Warren RanchDistrict · listed 2003
About itDeer Lodge Central Business Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008
About itConley Street BridgeStructure · listed 2011
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Deer Lodge: May 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 46 | 55 | 64 | 73 | 83 | 82 | 72 | 56 | 41 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 2.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Deer Lodge →
Questions about parks and trails in Deer Lodge
How much of Deer Lodge is conserved land?
10% 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 Deer Lodge’s trails?
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site and State don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Deer Lodge?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Deer Lodge?
42,007 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Deer Lodge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 47 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Deer Lodge have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #19 of 42 in Montana. 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 Deer Lodge 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 →