Hiking trails near Polson, Montana

45 official trails lie within 25 miles of Polson — 219 miles in total, 15 rated easy and 21 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.

The biggest climb nearby gains 3,731 ft; the median trail gains 912 ft.

Open the map on Polson

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Elk Ridge	11.5	3,207 ft	Expert	2 h 03 min · 78 mi
Lion - Palisade	13.1	3,378 ft	Expert	1 h 50 min · 71 mi
Smith - Little Salmon	22.1	3,731 ft	Expert	2 h 06 min · 82 mi
Bond Creek	7.8	3,108 ft	Expert	1 h 18 min · 49 mi
Alpine 7	22.2	2,012 ft	Expert	1 h 57 min · 65 mi
Wire Trail	6.9	3,069 ft	Expert	1 h 27 min · 52 mi
Hemlock Point	6.0	3,190 ft	Expert	2 h 13 min · 89 mi
Crow Creek Trail	5.7	3,174 ft	Expert	34 min · 14 mi
Moon Lake	6.9	2,581 ft	Expert	51 min · 26 mi
Sixmile Lookout	4.4	3,378 ft	Expert	1 h 28 min · 51 mi
Beardance	6.7	2,529 ft	Expert	1 h 42 min · 46 mi
Piper Lake	6.3	2,293 ft	Expert	1 h 54 min · 71 mi
Mollman Pass	3.9	2,990 ft	Hard	41 min · 21 mi
South Lost Creek	5.7	2,199 ft	Hard	1 h 51 min · 58 mi
Hall Lake Trail	4.8	2,260 ft	Hard	1 h 21 min · 49 mi
Mission Midway	9.0	1,395 ft	Expert	1 h 32 min · 54 mi
Cedar Lake	6.9	1,434 ft	Hard	2 h 04 min · 70 mi
Squeezer Creek	4.0	2,317 ft	Hard	1 h 58 min · 70 mi
Wild Bill - Eagle Mtn. Trail	5.5	1,882 ft	Hard	1 h 28 min · 39 mi
Lakeside To Blacktail	3.4	1,724 ft	Hard	1 h 07 min · 43 mi
Hemlock Lake	4.4	1,285 ft	Hard	2 h 16 min · 89 mi
Fire Line	2.1	1,942 ft	Moderate	2 h 25 min · 91 mi
Phillips	3.8	912 ft	Moderate	1 h 16 min · 40 mi
Crane Creek	2.2	771 ft	Moderate	1 h 37 min · 45 mi

Quick picks near Polson

Easy and short: Z - Loop — 2.5 mi, rated easy, 22 mi from town
Biggest climb: Smith - Little Salmon — 3,731 ft over 22.1 mi, 24 mi from town
Longest: Alpine 7 — 22.2 mi, 23 mi from town

What the trails reach

Summits: Hemlock Point to Hemlock Point; Sixmile Lookout to Sixmile Mountain

Lakes: Elk Ridge to Mollman Lakes; Lion - Palisade to Palisade Lake; Bond Creek to Bond Lake; Alpine 7 to Crevice Lake

Mountain passes: Elk Ridge to Mollman Pass; Lion - Palisade to Lion Creek Pass; Smith - Little Salmon to Smith Creek Pass; Alpine 7 to Inspiration Pass

Trail guides near Polson

Garnet Peak — 9.4 mi, 4,022 ft climb · 29 mi away
Alpine 7 — 32.2 mi, 1,686 ft climb · 33 mi away
Spotted Bear River — 32.7 mi, 3,015 ft climb · 39 mi away

Nearby towns: Kalispell (37 mi) · Missoula (56 mi)

All Montana trail guides · Hiking by city · Dispersed camping rules