Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
1,957 acres5.8 mi of trail
Mt Helena Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Charles A. Broadwater House · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Helena West Side
Helena West Side has 46 miles of mapped trails, 3.0 for every square mile of land
31% of Helena West Side’s land is conserved, about 3,010 acres. 328 acres are parks and preserves, 232 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (5.8 mi), Spring Meadow Lake State Park (1.2 mi), Mount Helena City Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
3,010 acres · of 15.1 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
3.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
328 ac
232 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
4.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Helena West Side?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town3.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 97% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild31% of the land is conserved; a typical Montana town, 10%.Room to roam232 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.History along the way5 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Helena West Side have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Helena West Side is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Helena West Side’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land232 acres of park per 1,000 residents (328 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13AParks 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 98%
LessMore
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Helena West Side’s 31% is ahead of 93% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% 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
The longest trail network is Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, with 5.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spring Meadow Lake State Park
Managed by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
54 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Mount Helena City Park
Park
19 acres0.9 mi of trail
Le Grande Cannon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest1,957 acres · 5.8 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
DirectionsSpring Meadow Lake State Park54 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
DirectionsMount Helena City Park19 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Tenmile Creek Park200 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLewis & Clark County28 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWho protects it
3,010 conserved acres
31% of Helena West Side’s land. Who manages Helena West Side’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service1,973 ac
Other state land710 ac
Bureau of Land Management191 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits74 ac
State fish & wildlife55 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government7 ac
National Forest · 1,973 acNot Designated · 710 acNational Public Lands · 191 acUnknown Easement · 74 acState Park · 55 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 74 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helena National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,973 | Open |
| State of Montana Not Designated | Other state land | 710 | Unknown |
| Butte Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 191 | Open |
| Spring Meadow Lake State Park State Park | State fish & wildlife | 55 | Open |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Helena West Side
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Helena West Side
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Helena West Side
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Helena West Side
Mt. Dorsi
DirectionsCampgrounds in Helena West Side
MTBcity
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.6 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
Mt Helena Ridge Trail2.4 mi
Le Grande Cannon Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath HousesBuilding · listed 1978
About itWestern Clay Manufacturing CompanyDistrict · listed 1985
About itWilliams Street BridgeStructure · listed 2006
About itCharles A. Broadwater HouseBuilding · listed 2008
About itFort Harrison Veterans' Hospital Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Helena West Side: 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 | 47 | 55 | 65 | 73 | 84 | 83 | 72 | 57 | 42 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 2.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Helena West Side →
Next door
Helena West Side and its neighbors
Helena West Side has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena West Side | 31% | 3.0 | 232 | 84% | A+ |
| 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 West Side
Where can I hike in Helena West Side?
The longest trail networks: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, 5.8 miles; Spring Meadow Lake State Park, 1.2 miles; Mount Helena City Park, 0.9 miles; Tenmile Creek Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Helena West Side is conserved land?
31% 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 West Side’s trails?
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and Spring Meadow Lake State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Helena West Side?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Helena West Side?
95,758 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Helena West Side or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,105 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Helena West Side have?
Ahead of 98% 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 Helena West Side 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 →