Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.096% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Malta
2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Malta, 1.9 per square mile of land. 13% of Malta’s land is conserved, about 84 acres. The biggest trail networks: Trafton Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Malta?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Malta have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Malta is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Malta’s 13% is ahead of 60% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Trafton Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hillcrest Park
84 conserved acres
13% of Malta’s land. Who manages Malta’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 1 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 84 | Unknown |
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Malta: May, August and 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 45 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 87 | 85 | 74 | 59 | 42 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
February is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 2.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Malta →
Questions about parks and trails in Malta
Where can I hike in Malta?
The longest trail networks: Trafton Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Malta is conserved land?
13% 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 Malta’s trails?
Trafton Park and Hillcrest Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Malta?
47,448 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Malta or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 37 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Malta have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Malta neighbors.
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 →