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Great Spots in Western Montana to combined running and biking?

1K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  skylark76 
#1 ·
Any suggestions for some great spots to combined running (5-8 miles of Cross Country type terrain) and some biking? I have found some running spots and some biking spots but nothing as of yet that was the perfect spot for both. Now if you could tell me a spot to also combined kayaking I would be in seventh heaven!:thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
Around West Glacier we have the alpine trail for brutal XC riding and a bunch of trails in the park for running, Middle fork of the flathead for boat folks. Missoula is nice for MTBing and there are tons of kayakers around but I have know idea where they float there.
 
#6 ·
you live in the center of it and are stoked

skylark76 said:
I think I will check out Bozeman and West Glacier. I'm in the Missoula area and am looking for something a little more exciting!!
hey~

Get a forest service maps of the Lolo, B-Root and Flathead. These forests have literally 1,000's of miles of singletrack that you can do exactly what you describe on. The beauty of Missoula is, it is hella close(45 minutes-1.5 hours) to the aforementioned trails. Most of these trails are technically demanding and are very exciting. The stuff in/around Missoula is mostly buff singletrack and not quite as exciting for MTBing, but a good workout none-the-less. Plus, these trails are virtually empty of people.

Dig!!
 
#7 ·
hmmmm exciting?
Single speeding on a fully rigid made some of the "more buff" trails exciting to me again.

Have you made the grind up the stuart peak trail, that has a nice descent IMO.
You have to pay to play with the Missoula trails and plan on climbing for a while to get to the fun stuff. I find my AM hardtail to be overkill for 90% of the trails and can get by with light XC equipment and less agro tires nost of the time .

Remember you can't legally ride trails in Glacier.

Big mountain is ok for a day of riding with the chairlift being only $10 and fun stuff on the lower section.
 
#9 ·
I agree...

skygod74 said:
Sheep Mountain in Missoula. Good lung busting climbs no matter how ya do it.
Stuart, Sheep, Mineral, BlueMtn to Petty...yes they are all good, and exciting...but no where nearly as exciting as some of the trail areas I listed above. It all depends on what you are looking for....
 
#10 ·
Where in kalispell?

JAK said:
Stuart, Sheep, Mineral, BlueMtn to Petty...yes they are all good, and exciting...but no where nearly as exciting as some of the trail areas I listed above. It all depends on what you are looking for....
I spend way too much time clearing the trails around lake 5 and the horse people will be chewing up the trails just outside Glacier soon, so besides Tally and Bigmtn where is the burly DH in the area?
 
#11 ·
don't know..

Mr. Doom said:
I spend way too much time clearing the trails around lake 5 and the horse people will be chewing up the trails just outside Glacier soon, so besides Tally and Bigmtn where is the burly DH in the area?
about areas around K-Spell...yeah the horses chew it up for sure...The good Burly DH's require a lot of XC-ish style of riding, IMO. The shuttled stuff is super chewed around here....it all depends on the type of DH you dig.
 
#14 ·
Kalispell has tons of stuff. Mt Marston, anywhere on Alpine 7, Spencer Lake, Tally Lake, Desert Mtn, Columbia Mtn,.... After you figure out the short way up, you can find some LONG DH. If ever in Kalispell, hit me up. I know a lot of good trails. I ride a big heavy bike but I use it for XC too.
 
#15 ·
LBS etc.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I think I will give sheep mountain a try when everything here is a little less crazy!! Thanks for the map to Sheep Mountain, too. I can't wait to try out some of the Kalispell and Bozeman trails as well! I just got back from a wonderful weekend of kayaking with some friends. This weekend I'm heading to Texas to meet another group to do some XC and whatever else we come up with. They all wanna head next door to AZ to do some skydiving, too. Ugh........I'm not so sure about that. I'm an adrenaline junkie but preferably by my own power:thumbsup:

Also anyone have any suggestions of a great LBS. These are my babies and I want them well taken care of. I haven't had a chance to go shopping as of yet. Plus I'm waiting for a few of my bikes to get here off the boat and make their way to MT.
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the LBS info. I stopped in at Open Road and they seemed to know their stuff. Anyone able to tell me what city in Montana the prefix 322 belongs to? Appears to be Columbia, Montana but that doesn't fit some info I got. Just wondering if anyone knew.

Keep it cool-
Sky
 
#19 ·
kanter said:
Kalispell has tons of stuff. Mt Marston, anywhere on Alpine 7, Spencer Lake, Tally Lake, Desert Mtn, Columbia Mtn,.... After you figure out the short way up, you can find some LONG DH. If ever in Kalispell, hit me up. I know a lot of good trails. I ride a big heavy bike but I use it for XC too.
Where do you live. The beadance trail on crane mtn. offers about 8 miles of downhill. About 20 miles of shuttling thou, unless you enjoy painfull climes. I am out in Woodsbay.
 
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