Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Virginia City, Montana

Axolotl Lakes Road is like a fine sampling of the beauty Montana has to offer. It begins in one of the state's charming towns, Virginia City, complete with weathered wooden buildings and small restaurants and…
Learn more about Axolotl Lakes Road

The Barton Gulch trail is a scenic drive that runs across the northern reaches of the Gravelly Range in Montana. Explore its winding two-tracks, and you'll witness abandoned cabins nestled by babbling brooks, open meadows…
Learn more about Barton Gulch

Beautiful trail with awesome views. Easy trail that gets narrow in spots and had some low hanging fallen trees that could be an issue if you don't want scratches in your paint. Stock 4x4s won't…
Learn more about Barton Gulch and Offshoots

This is a regularly maintained Forest Service Road that takes you from the Tobacco Mountains down to Highway 287, approximately 3 miles southwest of Nevada City, Montana. The route takes you to some very interesting…
Learn more about Granite Creek Road (161/49)

The Tobacco Mountains are a fun day of exploring lots of shorter side trails. The amount of time here really depends on how much exploring you want to do. There is nothing extremely difficult here…
Learn more about Virginia Creek (1249)

This is a very short trail to Cliff Lake at the top of the McKelvey Lake Trail and accessed from Mine Lake. Although short, the lake is absolutely worth seeing and the fishing is great.…
Learn more about Cliff Lake Trail

This easy and scenic route connects Montana's Centennial Valley and Ruby River Reservoir. Along its path, you'll pass a well-known bison ranch, trace portions of the Ruby River, and spend most of your trip flanked…
Learn more about Centennial Divide

Warm Springs Creek Road takes you from the Gravelly Range ridgeline to Continental Divide/Upper Ruby Road. Assuming you start on the upper ridge along Gravelly Range Road, you go down the road looking back on…
Learn more about Warm Springs Creek Road (FA 163)/Cow Camp Road (FS 1234)

Gravelly Range Road is a very long road that runs from Red Rock Lakes Road west of the Island Park, ID to a point just east of Virginia City, MT. The section of road included…
Learn more about Gravelly Range Road (FS290) (Partial)

The trail travels to Sureshot and Upper Sureshot Lakes before climbing up and down a mountain saddle via a series of switchbacks. The trail travels in and out of pine forest with great views along…
Learn more about Sureshot Lakes

This trail offers either an opportunity to leave the ridge on Gravelly Range Road and descend to a trailhead at McAtee Bridge near State Highway 287 or to climb up to Gravelly Range Road. This…
Learn more about Johnny Ridge Road - FS324

Fairly easy trail with some great views. Trail got narrow in some spots from freshly cut trees. Some quick switchbacks could be challenging in a longer wheelbase. Not a lot of traffic on the trail…
Learn more about Granite Lake

This road is a main traffic corridor between the N Valley Road, near the southern MT border and Alder, MT. There are numerous homes and ranch buildings in the area with additional traffic. This input…
Learn more about Continental Divide/Upper Ruby Road (FS100) (Parital)

This is an easy grated out and back dirt road begins through some open range before turning up into the mountains. Watch for range cattle on the road early in the trail. Once the trail…
Learn more about Potosi Willow Creek

This old mining road off Granite Lake Road features granite faces and expansive views of the Tobacco Root Mountains. The surface is dirt and stretches of loose rock, generally passable in dry conditions. A few…
Learn more about Tobacco Gold Pass

Until recently, this road has been closed because of a washout. It has been fixed, and being able to take this trail again is fantastic. From the top, you have majestic views of the surrounding…
Learn more about Cottonwood Creek Road - FS1012

Standard Creek Road (FS237) is a beautiful climb from the Madison River Basin up into the Gravelly Range. The views are spectacular and many side trails exist for exploring. The views often show three to…
Learn more about Standard Creek Rd w/Wolverine Basin

This is the southeastern portion of this long Forest Service Road through the upper plateau area of the Gravelly Range. On the northern end of this section, you will be mesmerized by the beauty of…
Learn more about Gravelly Range South (FS290)

This is a side trail that most people will pass by as they marvel at the views all around. At the end of this short trail is an exceptional old cabin with outbuildings and a…
Learn more about Rebish Camp

This road is actually a connector between Gravelly Range Road and Centennial Divide Road. Like Gravelly, this road has some spectacular views, and on the southern end, you will drop off the upper mesa at…
Learn more about Eureka Basin Road (FS 347)

This mostly dirt loop trail takes you from the downtown of Whitehall into the countryside and drives along the Jefferson River. There are several spots along the trail that have excellent views of the river…
Learn more about Point of Jefferson River Loop

Buck Ridge is a long ATV trail (11 miles) through the Gallatin National Forest south of Big Sky, Montana. The majority of the trail goes along a wide ridge line with incredible views out over…
Learn more about Buck Ridge ATV

If you're not careful, you will drive past this trail from either end. The only thing marking a trail on the Eureka Basin end is a very old FS sign that informs you that this…
Learn more about Fish Creek Ridge Road (FS 9626)

A popular fishing spot at the beginning of the road, it passes through many private plots of land and leads into National Forest and BLM land. There are a couple of camping spots along the…
Learn more about Devil's Canyon

This is a nice out-and-back dirt and gravel trail to the Eagle Nest day-use area with access to the Madison River. There is also a day-use river access spot at the beginning of the trail…
Learn more about Eagle Nest River Access

This is an easy trail with plenty of incredible scenery. Consisting of mostly dirt and gravel, the trail is typically maintained fairly well year-round. Depending on the time of year, you can expect to see…
Learn more about Buffalo Jump - Black Fords Fish Access

This is an exciting adventure with some great views, trail obstacles, and two lakes that had fish rising to get the numerous bugs, due to the approaching thunderstorm when we were there. Be aware, this…
Learn more about Fish Creek Lake Road (Partial)

This trail follows the West Fork of the Madison River, which is a beautiful stream that highlights the beauty of the valley you will be following. This is an exceptionally beautiful area and we were…
Learn more about West Fork Madison (FS 209)

This area shows the ravages of the fire that went through this region two years ago. It is sad to see the damage but, encouraging to see the logging operations that are going on to…
Learn more about Jackpine Gulch (FS 1209)

We were hoping to see Cliff or Wade Lake when we went down this trail, but we did not. But there were some great views as we moved along this bench. The grass was deep,…
Learn more about Jackknife - Cliff Lake Bench (FS 9640/41)