Montana trails · Water Hill
Water Hill
A 11.1-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 4,272 ft of climbing. Reaches Water Hill and other summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 64% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 3.7.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Water Hill (summit)
- Cataract Peak (summit)
- Seven Point Mountain (summit)
Getting there
WATER HILL TH 845 — parking nearby. About 2 h 25 min drive (89 mi, 23 of them unpaved) from Kalispell. 47.82440, -115.54018 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:28 a.m., the sun rises at 7:59 a.m. and sets at 6:55 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:27 p.m. (MDT) — 10 h 56 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 22.1-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 28 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Cataract Creek + Water Hill + West Fork Cataract — 15.9 mi loop, 5,335 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Silcox-Headley — 16.3 mi
- Sundance Ridge — 22.7 mi