Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area
Managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
1,500 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Helena Valley Northeast
6% of Helena Valley Northeast’s land is conserved: 2,037 acres
89 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 13 miles of mapped trail cross Helena Valley Northeast, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #37 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
2,037 acres · of 53.2 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
89 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 beaches · 5 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Helena Valley Northeast have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Helena Valley Northeast is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #37 of 42 in Montana. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Helena Valley Northeast’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (89 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home32% 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 50%
LessMore
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 12%
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Helena Valley Northeast’s 6% is ahead of 29% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 22% of them.
Water is 8% of Helena Valley Northeast’s area (5 of 58 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,037 conserved acres
6% of Helena Valley Northeast’s land. Water is left out: Helena Valley Northeast has 53.2 square miles of land and 4.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Helena Valley Northeast’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Bureau of Land Management1,067 ac
State fish & wildlife519 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits222 ac
Other state land187 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government40 ac
U.S. Forest Service3 ac
National Public Lands · 1,067 acState Conservation Area · 430 acUnknown Easement · 222 acNot Designated · 187 acState Recreation Area · 46 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 221 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1,067 | Open |
| Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 430 | Restricted |
| State of Montana Not Designated | Other state land | 187 | Unknown |
| Black Sandy State Park State Park | State fish & wildlife | 43 | Open |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 40 | Unknown |
| Upper Prickley Pear Fishing Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 38 | Open |
| Lake Helena Fishing Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Open |
| Causeway Fishing Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Open |
| Helena National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Helena Valley Northeast
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Helena Valley Northeast
Black Sandy Beach
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Helena Valley Northeast
5 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Helena Valley Northeast
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Helena Valley Northeast
Black Sandy State Park Campground
DirectionsWhite Sandy Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Silver Creek SchoolBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Helena Valley Northeast: 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 48 | 57 | 67 | 75 | 86 | 85 | 73 | 59 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 2.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Helena Valley Northeast →
Next door
Helena Valley Northeast and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Helena75 miHelena Valley West Central36 miHelena Valley Northeast13 miHelena Valley Southeast9.5 miHelena Valley Northwest3.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Valley Northeast | 6% | 0.2 | 19 | 32% | B− |
| Helena Valley Southeast | 7% | 0.4 | 111 | 51% | B+ |
| Helena Valley Northwest | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Helena | 24% | 4.3 | 67 | 99% | A+ |
| Helena Valley West Central | 22% | 1.4 | 7 | 50% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Helena Valley Northeast
How much of Helena Valley Northeast is conserved land?
6% 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 Helena Valley Northeast’s trails?
Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Helena Valley Northeast?
102,900 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Helena Valley Northeast or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,889 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Helena Valley Northeast have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #37 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 Helena Valley Northeast 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 →