Beginner Off-Road Trails Near Whitefish, Montana

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Red Meadow Creek

This is an amazing trail that begins at the north end of Whitefish Lake and meanders through Stillwater State Forest, Flathead National Forest, past Upper Whitefish Lake and up to Red Meadow Lake. The trail…
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Total Miles
76.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Patrick Creek to Emmons Creek

Easy, maintained scenic drive. The first few miles from Foys Canyon Road are residential. There are plenty of scenic pull-offs to enjoy, and the road provides access to the Foys-to-Blacktail hiking/biking trail. Emmons Creek intersects…
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Total Miles
17.2
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

North Fork Road

This road takes you from Columbia Falls to the Canadian Border! Fun drive with lots of great stops, and two entrances to Glacier National Park. The most popular stop is Polebridge, MT, where you can…
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Total Miles
14.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Desert Mountain

This is a scenic road that leads to the top of Desert Mountain where you can get a spectacular nearly 240 degree view of the surrounding area at an elevation of 6,415. There is also…
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Total Miles
8.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Hungry Horse Reservoir - East

This is an easy, scenic drive down the east side of Hungry Horse Reservoir. Many developed and primitive camping spots, with numerous lake access points and lots of hiking trails. This is considered the higher-traffic…
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Total Miles
47.6
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Inside North Fork Rd

This is a well maintained gravel road that meanders through Glacier National Park north of Lake McDonald. Many areas around this road have experienced a wild fire in recent history and caution should be taken…
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Total Miles
12.4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Trail Creek

This is fun, easy trail with great views of the Flathead Valley. The road is maintained and accessible during late spring, summer and fall. There are several trailheads for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and…
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Total Miles
7.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Hungry Horse Reservoir - West

This is a scenic drive down the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir. There are plenty of developed and primitive camping spots, and lake access points everywhere. The road is maintained, and paved for the…
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Total Miles
49.2
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su / Fa

Fish Creek Road

Fish Creek Road is a narrow gravel road that climbs in elevation to an incredible overlook of Ashley Lake in the Flathead National Forest. From the turn off at Ashley Lane, the road gains 1137…
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Total Miles
3.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su

Wild Bill Creek/Firewood Trail to Truman Creek

This is a really fun loop with several access points to the Wild Bill OHV Recreation Trail. The main trailhead has a bathroom and a large parking area for trailers. Access to Mudhole Junction, Packrat…
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Total Miles
21.8
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Cramer Creek to Patrick Creek

Spectacular views of Flathead Lake and Kalispell. Smooth, well maintained, and easy going. No obstacles, but the first two miles are residential, and you may run into logging operations depending on the time of day.…
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Total Miles
9.4
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Peter's Ridge Road

This is a quick, scenic drive with several trailheads for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and dirt bikes. The road is well maintained with no real obstacles except potholes and shallow ruts. You'll find several…
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Total Miles
5.7
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Haskill Divide

Haskill Divide is a narrow gravel road that climbs in elevation to an incredible overlook of Lake Rogers in Flathead National Forest. From the turn off of Haskill Divide it is 6.5 miles to the…
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Total Miles
6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Su

Blacktail Wild Bill OHV Trail

This trail offers bypasses on all of the challenging features, so you can choose the obstacles you want to attempt. Very deep snow in winter will makes the trail much more difficult.
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Total Miles
18.9
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Be

Mount Marston Lookout

An easy and scenic climb from the valley below to one of the highest peaks in the area. There is ample dispersed camping the entire way, and a nice hike across the main saddle as…
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Total Miles
14.5
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Su

Lakeside to Blacktail

This is a fun, easy drive with great views of the valley. The trail is well maintained and there are no obstacles. This route begins in Lakeside, and leads to a scenic overlook of the…
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Total Miles
6.9
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa / Wi

Strawberry Lake Trail

This does not take you to Strawberry Lake, but rather the trailhead to hike into the lake. The trail is narrow, rocky, and steep in some sections. There was a wide variety of cars and…
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Total Miles
3.1
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Trail Creek to Graves Creek

A fun and scenic drive through Northwest Montana. This trail is approximately 2 hours long, but expect an hour drive to get to the trail from Kalispell. From the North Ford Road, the trail starts…
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Total Miles
29.5
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Jewel Basin Road

Fun, scenic trail that leads to epic hiking. Road is rough and narrow, but still passable with most 2wd cars. Expect potholes, washboard, and steep sections. You'll arrive at the Camp Misery trailhead about 30…
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Total Miles
6
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Mission Divide/Crane Mtn Road

Fun, easy-going trail with great views of the Swan Valley and Swan mountain range! No major obstacles and well kept, with plenty of hiking and epic mountain biking trails and a small pond along the…
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Total Miles
15.3
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Robert's Mountain Trail

Easy, quiet, fun and friendly trail for good times. The trail takes you through the beautiful Kootenai National Forest. There are some rolling hills and rough terrain, with great views and wildlife. It's a quick…
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Total Miles
3.7
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su

Swede Mountain Runabout

This trail provides a wonderful showcase of the Kootenai National Forest's beauty. Once leaving the pavement, a maintained gravel road takes one up and over Swede mountain and down to the Fischer River. The road…
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Total Miles
13.7
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Skyland

Great views and free camp spots along this trail. It is an easy gravel road that can easily be used by larger vehicles and campers. A little creek and waterfall can be seen at the…
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Total Miles
15.2
Tech Rating
1 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Big Blue View

This trail is well maintained from the west side due to a communication site at the top of Blue Mountain. Once reaching the top of the mountain, there is a lookout tower allowing 360-degree views,…
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Total Miles
14.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Graves Creek Falls/Vermilion

This 12-mile RT trail goes into the Lolo National Forest, rising from the valley floor at 2400 feet to over 4300 feet. A fire in the high country cut our trip short, so if there's…
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Total Miles
5.5
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Lindbergh to Meadow and Bunyan Lake

This rocky trail heads up into the hills to the two lakes above Lindbergh lake. At the time of recording at the end of May, the snowpack became too deep to continue. There is no…
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Total Miles
4.9
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Olson Peak Singletrack

This is a singletrack, two-way trail that is slightly overgrown. It is fairly easy, but there are a few log hops and side hills, and there may be blown down trees blocking your way. The…
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Total Miles
9.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa

Lindbergh Lake

This easy potholed trail leads from the highway to the Lindbergh Lake boat launch and camping areas. Camping is first-come, first-serve, and $10/night. There are pit toilets and fire rings. Some sites have bear boxes,…
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Total Miles
4
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

Cougar Peak

This trail zigzags from the valley floor at 2607 feet to over 6100 feet in the Lolo National Forest towards Cougar Peak. A fire in the area the day we rode stopped us from getting…
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Total Miles
15.2
Tech Rating
2 Easy
Best Time
Fa / Su / Sp

River Trail

This is a fun, well-maintained singletrack that follows the Clark Fork River. There are some technical rock/root features, very small water crossings and a few switchbacks. The trail is shared, trail so you may encounter…
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Total Miles
8.4
Tech Rating
3 Easy
Best Time
Sp / Su / Fa