Great Northern Railway Passenger and Freight Depot and Division Office · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Whitefish has 7.6 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
10% of Whitefish’s land is conserved, about 464 acres. The biggest trail networks: Armory Park (0.8 mi). 90% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #16 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Whitefish?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Whitefish have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Whitefish is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #16 of 42 in Montana. 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 Whitefish’s 10% is ahead of 51% of Montana towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
Water is 42% of Whitefish’s area (5 of 13 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Armory Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Park
Grouse Mountain Park
All 13 parks & preserves
464 conserved acres
10% of Whitefish’s land. Water is left out: Whitefish has 7.4 square miles of land and 5.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Whitefish’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 15 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 23 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 | 417 | Unknown |
| Smith Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Armory Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Riverside at Whitefish Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Grouse Mountain Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| City Beach Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| River Trail Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Hugh Rogers Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
16 places to go in Whitefish
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 swimming spot without a name on the map.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 community garden without a name on the map.
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
10 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.
4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Whitefish: 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 45 | 55 | 65 | 72 | 82 | 82 | 70 | 54 | 39 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.8 |
August is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 2.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Whitefish →
Questions about parks and trails in Whitefish
Where can I hike in Whitefish?
The longest trail networks: Armory Park, 0.8 miles; Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Whitefish is conserved land?
10% 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 Whitefish’s trails?
Armory Park and Smith Fields Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Whitefish?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 9.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Whitefish?
155,502 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Whitefish or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 166 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Whitefish have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 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 Whitefish 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 →