Hidden Montana Hikes

Upper Carpp Lake in Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness (Steve Howe)

Turquoise Lake (Jeremie Hollman)

Photo by Doug Roane

Snowmelt from Black Mountain feeds Pine Creek (Doug Roane)

East Pintler Peak reflects into Johnson Lake (Steve Howe)

Timberline park lands on approach to Homer Youngs (Steve Howe)

Beaverhead Range

Heart Lake and Homer Youngs Peak

The secret: Idyllic elk meadows and an imposing summit lie just a few miles from a little-used trail.

Ajax Lake and Ajax Peak

The secret: A long dirt-road approach to the trailhead dissuades most hikers from attempting this magnificent summit, but they don’t know about the five-star car camping en route. 

Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness

Six Lakes Walkabout

The secret: To find the best of the Anaconda, head off-trail past isolated tarns, over high ridgelines, and around an iconic peak.



Mission Mountains

Turquoise Lake

The secret: Hike to the shore of a half-mile long lake for mountain vistas and gold-medal cutthroat fishing.



Sawtooth Range

Rocky Mountain and Old Baldy

The secret: Discover a wide-open view over the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness from this solitary summit.



Cabinet Mountains

Northern Cabinets Thru-Hike

The secret: Explore a new route across one of America’s most beautiful-and overlooked-ranges.



Snowshoe Peak

The secret: Pick a sneak route up the region’s tallest summit.



Absaroka Range

Pine Creek Lake and Black Mountain

The secret: Keep climbing when others turn back to reach the lake-filled foreground-or the top-of this steep, dark-mountain castle.