Montana Trails

The remote Crazies are a playground for more than just humans.

Basecamper Brent Umphlett, his brother, and 4 days of alpine lakes deep in the Montana wilderness.

Spot some bruins and sample the goods at these Bearpacker Magazine-approved destinations.

Score bird’s-eye views over valleys and mountains on these four treks to summit lookouts.

Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana

Gallatin National Forest, Montana

From white water to granite handholds to pine tree hangs—Leaving Montana wasn’t easy.

A few weeks into this hundred day summer road-trip and I didn’t need to read far into people’s expressions upon meeting me: it was time for a rinse.

Find the best wildflowers, dayhike, and more that this corner of Montana has to offer.

Shorts, T-shirts, and… Skis?

Meet some new furry (and feathered, and scaly) friends on these incredible trails throughout the lower 48.

Hike to a giant stone wall, and take a dip afterward.

Backpack past shimmering high-altitude lakes, up steep mountain ridges, and over 7,000+ foot passes in the mountains of the Selway-Bitterroot, MT.

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Montana

Ski through a peaceful pine forest on this 3.1-mile loop east of Spokane, Washington.

A stout, 15.4-mile off-trail loop to a handful of peaks in the Tobacco Roots finishes off at steamy hot springs perfect for relaxing sore muscles.

Camp near an alpine lake beneath the fabled crags of the Crazy Mountains and watch frothing streams tumble over multiple falls on this 9.6-mile overnight.

Pass a handful of big canyon waterfalls on your way up to an alpine lake with jaw-dropping views on this 9.4-mile out-and-back in Gallatin National Forest.

Climb the rocky guardian of the northern Gallatin Range on this 10-mile out-and-back to a skyline full of lofty pinnacles.

This 11-mile out-and-back weaves among pines, crosses over a waterfall, then passes through a rock tunnel above two alpine lakes.

On this 4.4-mile dayhike, the five-star views go on and on as you climb through blooming meadows and up a scree slope to the Bridger Range's high point.

This ambitious 5.6-miler climbs more than 3,000 feet through mountain meadows, past a quiet lake, to a summit with far-away views over the Gallatin Range.

This 7.1-mile dayhike in Lewis and Clark National Forest loops through the Highwood Mountains, skirting several creeks and the broad summit of Windy Mountain.

This 13.9-mile backcountry getaway features a secluded mountain lake, countless stream crossings, and views across untouched wilderness.

Trace Specimen Creek to two backcountry lakes and tour remote mountain landscapes on this solitary, 22.5-mile trek in Yellowstone National Park.

Cross the Stillwater Plateau to trout-rich ponds at the foot of Montana's second highest peak.

BACKPACKER magazine's shortlist of the biggest, toughest, most awesome adventures in America's baddest range.

Go high for the see-it-all hike in this iconic park.

This 29.5-mile backcountry circuit in Lolo National Forest traces the Bitterroot Divide, visits several lakes, and reveals far-reaching views.

11 waterfalls in 11 round-trip miles make this one of Bozeman's premier hikes.

Visit a glacier with millions of extinct grasshoppers entombed in its ice.

Climb 3,000 feet in 4.3 miles to a trout-filled tarn nestled in a granite cirque.

No need to fight the crowds in Glacier or Yellowstone. Montana is full of life-list trips--you just have to know where to look.

The little-known Absaroka (ab-SOAR-kuh) Mountains are the largest single range in the Rockies, and they undoubtedly form the wild core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In their northern extremities, the Absarokas manifest their grandeur as steep, rugged spires, thanks to cliff-friendly blends of granite and gneiss. There among the pinnacles you'll find all the mountain wildlife of Yellowstone (mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, wolves and bears both black and brown), but with bigger, badder scenery and far fewer people.

Check out Steve Howe's author page.

The Missions stand out even in northwest Montana, a region with no shortage of steep, crazed peaks. Travel in this glacially eroded landscape of dense evergreen forest, hidden lakes, tusk-like 9,000-foot summits and long, knife-edged ridgelines can be described in three simple terms: Steep. Rocky. Strenuous. Basecamping is the best plan.

Fewer than 300 miles of trail crisscross the 158,615-acre Anaconda-Pintler, but only 45 miles along the CDT qualify as busy. At this northern latitude, treeline sits around 9,000 feet, and timberline regions are like bonsai gardens writ large; an aesthetic blend of spruce, fir, and the whimsical larch. The best way to experience it? A multiday immersion trek trip.

Rugged, scenic, and lightly traveled, the Beaverheads rise above Big Hole Valley's broad meadows as a skyline full of 10,000 foot summits with alpine lakes pooling at their feet. Outside of Montana, this place would be on every hiker's tick list, but here it fades into obscurity behind Glacier and the northern Bitterroots that loom above Missoula. Explore them shoreline to summit on these two hikes.

Visit a glacier with millions of extinct grasshoppers entombed in its ice.

Climb to a wonderland of tundra, rugged peaks, and dreamy lakes.

Have rocky ridges and sparkling alpine lakes all to yourself.

Cross the Stillwater Plateau to trout-rich ponds at the foot of Montana's second highest peak.

In "Destination Nowhere" (September 2008), Mark Jenkins explores the most remote wilderness location in the continental United States–a top-secret spot in Yellowstone. See his trip photos and read an interview with Jenkins where he discusses the assignment.