Bureau of Land Mgmt
Park
3,311 acres27.3 mi of trail
Norris SingletrackSouth LoopScratch Gravel DoubletrackHorse Biscuits+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District (Boundary Increase) · Photo: Montanabw · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Helena Valley West Central
22% of Helena Valley West Central’s land is conserved: 3,703 acres
36 miles of mapped trail cross Helena Valley West Central, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Bureau of Land Mgmt (27.3 mi), Sierra Park (0.5 mi). 57 acres are parks and preserves, 7.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #25 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
3,703 acres · of 26.4 sq mi of land
Trails
36 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
57 ac
7.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi paths
Highest peak
5,233 ft
Scratchgravel Hills
What kind of outdoors town is Helena Valley West Central?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Helena Valley West Central have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Helena Valley West Central is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #25 of 42 in Montana. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Helena Valley West Central’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (36 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (57 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home50% 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 72%
LessMore
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 41%
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Helena Valley West Central’s 22% is ahead of 85% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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 Bureau of Land Mgmt, with 27.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lewis & Clark County
Park
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Bureau of Land Mgmt3,311 acres · 27.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSierra Park19 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLewis & Clark County20 acres
Treasure State Acres Park9 acres
DirectionsRyan Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,703 conserved acres
22% of Helena Valley West Central’s land. Who manages Helena Valley West Central’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Bureau of Land Management3,497 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits193 ac
Town or city8 ac
County3 ac
Other state land1 ac
National Public Lands · 3,497 acUnknown Easement · 193 acLocal Park · 12 acNot Designated · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 193 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 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 | 3,497 | Open |
| Treasure State Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Menlo Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| State of Montana Not Designated | Other state land | 1 | Unknown |
| Thomas Court Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Helena Valley West Central
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Helena Valley West Central
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Helena Valley West Central
Scratchgravel Hills5,233 ft elevation · In Bureau of Land Mgmt
DirectionsCampgrounds in Helena Valley West Central
Helena Campground and RV Park
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.9 mi
Scratch Gravel Doubletrack2.1 mi
Norris Singletrack2.1 mi
South Loop1.5 mi
Scratch Gravels Singletrack0.8 mi
Horse Biscuits0.6 mi
Rocks and Needles0.5 mi
Scratch Gravels Doubletrack0.4 mi
Flume Trail0.4 mi
Sunny Vista Trail0.3 mi
Head Lane Doubletrack0.3 mi
3 more trails
Scratch Gravel Single Track
0.2 miIron Access
0.2 miHead Lane Connector
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Soccer
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 Helena Valley West Central: 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 | 56 | 66 | 74 | 85 | 84 | 73 | 58 | 43 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
January is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 2.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Helena Valley West Central →
Next door
Helena Valley West Central and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Helena75 miHelena West Side46 miHelena Valley West Central36 miHelena Valley Northeast13 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 West Central | 22% | 1.4 | 7 | 50% | B+ |
| Helena | 24% | 4.3 | 67 | 99% | A+ |
| Helena West Side | 31% | 3.0 | 232 | 84% | A+ |
| Helena Valley Northwest | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Helena Valley Northeast | 6% | 0.2 | 19 | 32% | 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 West Central
Where can I hike in Helena Valley West Central?
The longest trail networks: Bureau of Land Mgmt, 27.3 miles; Sierra Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Helena Valley West Central is conserved land?
22% 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 West Central’s trails?
Bureau of Land Mgmt and Sierra Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Helena Valley West Central?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Helena Valley West Central?
78,872 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Helena Valley West Central or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,568 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Helena Valley West Central have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 West Central 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 →