Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
2,818 acres7.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
W. C. Child Ranch · Photo: Robstutz · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Montana City
26% of Montana City’s land is conserved: 5,612 acres
The biggest trail networks: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (7.3 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Montana City, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
5,612 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
6,532 ft
Skihi Peak
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Montana City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montana City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montana City is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Montana City’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · MT 91% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore
Montana State towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 2%
Montana State towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Montana City’s 26% is ahead of 93% of Montana State towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
The longest trail network is Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bureau of Land Mgmt
Park
1,232 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,612 conserved acres
26% of Montana City’s land. Who manages Montana City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service2,671 ac
Bureau of Land Management2,301 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits629 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government12 ac
National Forest · 2,671 acNational Public Lands · 2,301 acUnknown Easement · 629 acLocal Other or Unknown · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 629 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 9 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 | 2,671 | Open |
| Butte Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 2,301 | Open |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Montana City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Montana City
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Montana City
Skihi Peak6,532 ft elevation · In Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
DirectionsJack Mountain6,171 ft elevation · In Bureau of Land Mgmt
DirectionsStrawberry Butte6,089 ft elevation · In Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
DirectionsShingle Butte5,915 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
W. C. Child RanchBuilding · listed 1977
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Montana City: May and July 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) | 9.0 | 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 | 36 | 47 | 55 | 64 | 73 | 83 | 82 | 72 | 57 | 42 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 2.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Montana City →
Next door
Montana City and its neighbors
Montana City 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana City | 26% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Clancy | 21% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| South Hills | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montana City
Where can I hike in Montana City?
The longest trail networks: Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, 7.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montana City is conserved land?
26% of its land, against a typical 10% for a Montana State town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Montana City’s trails?
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and Bureau of Land Mgmt don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Montana City?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Montana City?
103,064 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montana City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,897 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Montana City have?
Ahead of 34% 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 Montana City 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 →