Trout Creek Canyon

The Refrigerator Canyon Trail is a scenic trail that leads into the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. While this trail goes back for up to 16 miles, for this adventure, we will focus on the first half-mile of the trail. The first half-mile of Refrigerator Canyon Trail is the most scenic and unique. It passes through a narrow canyon with 200 feet high limestone walls. At the quarter-mile point,...

Known as one of the most serene climbing areas in Montana, as well as some of the best sport climbing in the state, if you're a climber, Hellgate Gulch is worth the visit. Within 30 miles of Helena, you'll be climbing on limestone's funky pockets. There are plenty of climbing options, and most of them are sport climbs (which means they're bolted). Bring trad gear if you have it though as some c...

In 1949, a fire started in a remote area of the Gates of the Mountains wilderness, a gulch east of the Upper Missouri River. Fifteen smokejumpers were dropped in to fight it. Thirteen died. The United States Forest Service drew lessons from the tragedy of the Mann Gulch fire by designing new training techniques and safety measures that developed how the agency approached wildfire suppression. T...

Mount Ascension is a popular trail in Helena. It's used for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. It can be accessed year-round, but can get icy and slippery during the winter.  The path for Mount Ascension is a network of trails that that can be done as an out-and-back, or a lollipop trail. A lollipop trail is where the first and last parts of the trail will be the same, but you loop up ...

Located just outside of Helena, the 1906 Trail starts at the Mt Helena Parking Lot. The path is wide enough to share with hikers, trail runners, or mountain bikers. Note: this is an uphill-only trail for mountain biking. It's a very popular trail due to its wide trail and awesome views from the top of Mount Helena. The 1906 is an out-and-back trail. It's approximately 1.5 miles to the top with ...

The Prospect Shaft Trail is a lightly used trail used to reach the summit of Mt Helena. The trail is rated as a 'moderate' trail due to its steep, loose, rocky surface. Due to these characteristics, it's rarely used for mountain biking and primarily used for hiking and trail running.  The views are incredible. Hiking up in the morning and you can catch an epic sunrise over Helena. Due to the ro...