Missoula has 112 miles of mapped trails, 3.2 for every square mile of land
21% of Missoula’s land is conserved, about 4,698 acres. 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Greenough Park (1.1 mi), Spartan Park (1 mi), High Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #7 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
4,698 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
112 mi
3.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
925 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
80 mi
36 mi lanes · 37 mi paths
Highest peak
5,174 ft
Mount Sentinel South
Lakes & rivers
3
7 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Missoula?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Missoula is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #7 of 42 in Montana. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Missoula’s overall grade.
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Missoula’s 21% is ahead of 83% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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.
21% of Missoula’s land. Who manages Missoula’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government4,130 ac
Town or city1,117 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits981 ac
U.S. Forest Service251 ac
County203 ac
Private owners4 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 4,191 acUnknown Easement · 1,517 acLocal Park · 389 acNational Forest · 251 acLocal Recreation Area · 202 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 156 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 95 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
4,130
Unknown
Fort Missoula
Local Recreation Area
County
187
Open
Lolo National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service
151
Open
Aerial Fire Depot Other
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service
73
Open
Tower Street Conservation Area (Wilbert Property)
Local Conservation Area
Town or city
69
Restricted
Yawle E. Jumbo
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city
61
Open
Playfair Park
Local Park
Town or city
60
Open
Greenough Park
Local Park
Town or city
44
Open
Tower Street (Simon Property)
Local Resource Management Area
Town or city
38
Open
Mccormick Park
Local Park
Town or city
25
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
103 places to go in Missoula
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Missoula
7 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
36 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
37 mi
off-road bike paths
7.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
37Basketball
36Tennis
34Baseball
21Soccer
13Football
11Tracks
8Pickleball
4Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
68 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 24 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Missoula: May, June, 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)
8.9
10.2
11.8
13.5
15.0
15.9
15.5
14.2
12.5
10.8
9.3
8.5
High (°F)
34
39
50
58
68
75
86
85
74
58
42
33
Rain (in)
0.9
0.8
0.8
1.3
1.7
2.1
0.9
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.0
1.1
August is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 2.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Missoula →
Next door
Missoula and its neighbors
Missoula has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Missoula
Where can I hike in Missoula?
The longest trail networks: Greenough Park, 1.1 miles; Spartan Park, 1 miles; High Park, 0.9 miles; Moose Can Gully, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Missoula is conserved land?
21% 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 Missoula’s trails?
Greenough Park and Spartan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Missoula?
80 miles of bike routes are on the map: 36 of painted or protected lanes, 37 of off-road paths and 7.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Missoula?
152,075 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Missoula or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,176 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Missoula have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Missoula neighbors.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0