Stevenson Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Three Forks of the Missouri · Photo: Mike Cline · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Three Forks
13% of Three Forks’ land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
13% of Three Forks’ land is conserved, about 117 acres. 105 acres are parks and preserves, 55 per 1,000 residents. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Three Forks, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
117 acres · of 1.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
105 ac
55 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Three Forks?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Three Forks have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Three Forks is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Three Forks’ overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MT town 10% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MT 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land55 acres of park per 1,000 residents (105 acres) · MT 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · MT 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Montana towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 10%; the U.S., 4%), so Three Forks’ 13% is ahead of 60% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% 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.
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.
Tom Bertagnolli Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Peterson Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
117 conserved acres
13% of Three Forks’ land. Who manages Three Forks’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife97 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government19 ac
State Recreation Area · 97 acLocal Other or Unknown · 19 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 2 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Forks Ponds Fishing Access Site State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 97 | Open |
| Local Other or Unknown Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 19 | Unknown |
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Three Forks: 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 49 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 86 | 85 | 74 | 60 | 44 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
February is the driest month (0.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 2.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Three Forks →
Questions about parks and trails in Three Forks
How much of Three Forks 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 Three Forks’ trails?
Stevenson Park and Tom Bertagnolli Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Three Forks?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Three Forks?
24,227 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Three Forks or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 105 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Three Forks have?
Ahead of 88% 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 Three Forks 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 →