Running trails in Helena, MT
Helena has 18 trails in the directory — 1 paved and 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 3 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 7 open 24 hours. 9 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 2,614 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.
Helena National Forest
4.7 ★★★★★ 897 reviews
Diverse wilderness expanse featuring campgrounds, hiking trails & hunting & fishing opportunities.
Spring Meadow Lake State Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 620 reviews
This 61-acre state park features an artificial lake with swimming & fishing, plus a nature trail.
Centennial Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 416 reviews
Community resource featuring kids' playgrounds, multipurpose trails, fields & a dog park.
Mount Ascension Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 161 reviews
Park featuring trails for mountain biking and hiking with views.
Mount Helena
4.8 ★★★★★ 125 reviews
Multiple trails up a mountain peak with limestone cliffs, prairie wildflowers & ponderosa pine.
Nature Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 80 reviews
Paved trail around a former gold-dredging site plus a park with a brook and wildlife.
Tenmile Creek Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 72 reviews
Relaxed destination for walking, hiking, running or biking trails and a creek.
Beattie Street Trailhead for Mount Ascension
4.7 ★★★★★ 71 reviews
Park featuring kid-friendly hiking trails and opportunities for biking.
Sierra Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 39 reviews
Head Lane Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 12 reviews
Rodney Street Trails
4.7 ★★★★★ 7 reviews
Mt Helena ridge
5 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
Bompart Hill
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
Bompart Hill Trailhead
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Helena
- Match the surface to your legs. Helena gives you a choice: 3 natural surface and 1 paved. 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? 1 trail here is a loop, 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 Helena is John G. Mine Trailhead at 40 mi. 2 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 7 trails in Helena are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 9 of the 18 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 6 have trailhead parking and 4 have restrooms in Helena. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 1 with mile markers, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 5 dog-friendly, and 3 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. 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 Helena trails by type
Running trails near Helena
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.