Running trails in Butte, MT
Butte has 11 trails in the directory — 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 2 with a stated distance, and 3 open 24 hours. 6 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 796 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Skyline Dog Park/ Kids Fishing Pond
4.6 ★★★★★ 188 reviews
Large park for dogs and their parents featuring fenced play areas: a water fountain and a fishing pond for kids.
Big Butte Open Space Recreation Area
4.6 ★★★★★ 178 reviews
Expansive, recreational park providing hiking trails to the top of Big Butte & a ski spot in winter.
Chester Steele Park
4.4 ★★★★☆ 158 reviews
Community park with a playground and picnic tables, as well as a splash pad and sledding hill.
McGruff Park
4 ★★★★☆ 96 reviews
Informal park featuring a playground plus a skate park and a basketball court.
Maud S Canyon Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 44 reviews
Popular canyon trek and sightseeing locale featuring multiple trails, plus mountain-biking routes, loops and stunning vistas.
Rocker Station Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 16 reviews
Lions Den Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 14 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Butte
- Match the surface to your legs. Butte gives you a choice: 1 natural surface and 1 mixed. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Butte is Thompson Park at 4.5 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Butte are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 11 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 5 have trailhead parking, 6 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Butte. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 3 dog-friendly. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Butte trails by type
Running trails near Butte
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.