Polson Sports Complex
Park
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Montanabw · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Polson
Polson has 7.6 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
11% of Polson’s land is conserved, about 336 acres. 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 60 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #17 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
336 acres · of 4.7 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
60 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.3 mi
4.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Polson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Polson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Polson is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #17 of 42 in Montana. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Polson’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (60 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home80% 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 82%
LessMore
Montana towns of 2,500+ (42)Ahead of 61%
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Polson’s 11% is ahead of 59% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
O'Malley Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Riverside Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSacajawea Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSalish Point Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPolson Sports Complex25 acres
O'Malley Park10 acres
Boettcher Park6 acres
DirectionsJorgenson Heglie Park4 acres
DirectionsDucharme Park1 acres
Who protects it
336 conserved acres
11% of Polson’s land. Who manages Polson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government325 ac
Town or city47 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 325 acLocal Park · 26 acLocal Recreation Area · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 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 | 325 | Unknown |
| Sports Complex Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Boettcher Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Travis Dolphin Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Sacajawea Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Pomajevich Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Salish Point Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Polson Skate Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Polson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Polson
Boettcher Park Swimming Access
DirectionsRiverside Park Swimming Access
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Polson
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Polson
Travis Dolphin Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Polson
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
4.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Tennis
2Basketball
1Equestrian
1Skate park
1Football
1Pickleball
1Soccer
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).
Polson Feed MillBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Polson: 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 56 | 65 | 72 | 83 | 82 | 71 | 55 | 40 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
August is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 2.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Polson →
Questions about parks and trails in Polson
Where can I hike in Polson?
The longest trail networks: Riverside Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Polson is conserved land?
11% 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 Polson’s trails?
Polson Sports Complex and O'Malley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Polson?
4.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Polson?
12,641 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Polson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 60 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Polson have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #17 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 Polson 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 →