Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Victor, Montana

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Big Creek Trailhead

This is a short and beautiful drive. It's a windy and easy graded road that almost any car can make. Once you pass the residential area, the trail twists back and forth through a beautiful…
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Total Miles
2.6
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Smith Ridge Glen Lake

Stunning drive into the Bitterroots from the Bell Crossing area. You start in a residential area and ascend to the trailhead for the Glen Lake hike. Along the way are a few waterfalls for one…
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Total Miles
7.3
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Wi / Fa / Su / Sp

Smith Ridge Dead End

Small offshoot trail on the Smith trail. Some dispersed camping right at the beginning. The trail cuts hard left into the woods. From here, it is super narrow and really difficult to find a turnaround…
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Total Miles
0.7
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Sp / Fa

Smiths Grassy Offshoot

A grassy offshoot from Smiths Trail. Seasonally closed from Oct 14th through June 16th. This trail features a beautiful ride through the woods on a lesser traveled trail. Please use caution when stopping in the…
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Total Miles
1.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Lower Smith Ridge

This is an offshoot from the main trail. Seasonally closed Oct 14th through June 16th. It features forest views and chances to spot deer and elk. There is a small dispersed campsite at the end…
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Total Miles
1.6
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

St.Mary's Peak Trail

This trail is mostly a 1 but earns the 2 rating in the last mile and two switchbacks getting to the top of the trail. This trail is used primarily to access the very popular…
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Total Miles
3.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

McCalla Switchbacks

Dirt and rocky switchback trail running up to McCalla peak. This trail is overgrown and very narrow in a lot of places. Would recommend this trail be traveled in smaller offroad vehicles such as SxS,…
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Total Miles
3.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

McCalla to St.Mary's Connection

This is a pretty wooded dirt trail that runs along the hillsides between McCalla Ridge and St.Mary's. It can be used to connect all three trails up to make a loop. This trail is less…
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Total Miles
2.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Smith Ridge

Twisty dirt out and back trail gaining elevation up to a nice campsite or turn around. Mostly treed trail with some beautiful views out to the Bitterroot valley in a few areas where the trees…
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Total Miles
2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Bear Creek Overlook Trail

A well-maintained dirt road that is easily driven or accessible by all types of vehicles including 2WD passenger cars. The first half of the trail is a nice winding drive through tall pine trees the…
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Total Miles
5.5
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Gash Sweathouse Face Trail

Easy dirt forest road, less traveled and pretty overgrown. No problem for SxS and smaller vehicles. Small trucks and small 4x4 SUVs would make it but might incur scratches. Larger vehicles would need to do…
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Total Miles
2.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Gash Creek

Most of the trail up is a smooth easy graded road and would be no issue for any vehicle but it has been trimmed on either side of the road so it would be fine…
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Total Miles
6.7
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Cow Creek Road and Shiefman Hiking Trail

Generally, this is an easy dirt road that consists of multiple switchbacks and some decent elevation climbs. It begins in a neighborhood where it is asked to please drive slowly, and after, it turns into…
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Total Miles
5.3
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Mill Creek Trailhead

A very short out and back it's less than a mile Easily .8, most of it is through a neighborhood with private homes. The signage does ask that you stay on the main road. At…
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Total Miles
0.7
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Bass Overlook Trail

Fun switchback dirt trail that ends at a small parking area with a nice overlook. This is where the Bass Overlook Hiking trail #392 starts and is part of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Bass Overlook Trailhead…
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Total Miles
8
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Blodgett Hiking Trail and Campground

This is a short out and back trail with stunning views of the rock formations up the canyon. The middle portion of the trail is through private land. At the end of the trail is…
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Total Miles
1.5
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Blodgett Canyon Overlook

Well maintained wide dirt road leading to several very popular hiking trails.Blodgett Overlook 1.4 mile hiking trail and Canyon Lake is 5 miles.There is a nice parking area for 10-15 cars at the end of…
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Total Miles
3.2
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Lower Willow St Clair

Easy little forest road that begins in a housing area and winds through private property until you reach the forest. There's a small creek alongside the road and a few pullouts. Saw one dispersed camping…
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Total Miles
4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Sweeney Creek Trail

4x4 high clearance switchback dirt road. This trail begins through a gravel residential neighborhood, signs ask to drive slow and keep the dust down. There are a few narrow one-lane sections that run up the…
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Total Miles
6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Sawmill Saddle

Easy graded forest road with plenty of switchbacks and a few loose gravel sections. It's a nice trail with some views of the valley as you head into the mountains. The lower part of the…
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Total Miles
9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa / Sp

Willow Mountain to Burnt Fork Lake Hiking trail

Easy graded narrow trail. Lots of pullouts to pass other drivers; some of the corners are steeper with looser gravel. Be alert for people collecting firewood and their trucks parked right in the road as…
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Total Miles
19.1
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Gold Creek Trail

Easy dirt trail safe for most 4WD and 2WD vehicles all the way to the Gold Creek Campground. The trail continues past the Gold Creek campground but turns into 4WD high clearance only. The trail…
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Total Miles
6.2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Roaring Lion

This is a short out-and-back dirt trail up one of the valleys with stunning panoramic views. There was a fire through the valley at some point that burned all the trees opening up what can…
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Total Miles
1.6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Upper Willow Saint Clair

An easy mostly graded trail into the hills. Outstanding Views of the Bitterroot valley below. There is intermittent cell service. Saw a herd of deer on the trail. The last few miles become more narrow…
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Total Miles
11.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Ambrose Trail

A wide well-grated dirt trail that begins at the base of the Sapphire Mountain range and gains elevation up into the mountains. It is a great trail to access other trails including the Sawmill Ridge…
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Total Miles
7.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

St Clair

The trail starts easy and flat. Be on the lookout for downed trees and rock slides or boulders in the trail. It gets more difficult the further back you go. Mud holes and springs run…
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Total Miles
4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Clairmont

This out and back starts with decent-sized potholes and dense trees and then opens up to amazing cliffsides with epic views. There are hardly any places to pass oncoming, and no camping spots were noticed…
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Total Miles
5.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

High Road

The name says it all this road runs up to one of the higher ones in the area. There are incredible vistas and decent dispersed camping spots--a few offshoot trails and a narrow section closer…
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Total Miles
3.2
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

McClain Creek Road (FS 1311)

McClain Creek Road is also known as Forest Service Road 1311 and goes from the Bitterroot Valley to Carlton Lake but is gated at the 5-mile mark. The road passes through the former McClay Ranch…
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Total Miles
3.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Head of Butterfly

Short out and back. 2 bars LTE. Very narrow. Not Recommended to take a vehicle wider or taller than an SXS. There is a small camp spot before the end which doubles as the final…
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Total Miles
0.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp