Helena’s Accessible Trails

Centennial Park

Probably the most accessible trailway in Helena.
The main paved loop is 1.25 miles. There are a few weathered granite cutovers in addition. If you loop and add the cutovers, you can easily make this park 2 miles; mostly paved; plowed early every day during the winter. There is a modest rise near the fenced-in dog park near the NE portion of the paved trail, and a dip and rise near the transfer station at the west side. Moving clockwise around the trail (from the main parking area) allows users to approach both rises in a way that is a bit less strenuous, counter-clockwise movement will require some extra effort. Centennial Park connects with the Centennial Trail and Great Northern Town Center.

Visit the park

Centennial Trail

Much of this pathway is paved- decent accessibility.
About 3 miles one-way, it is paved near Centennial Park and weathered granite from Benton Ave, to Country Club Ave., and paved again from Country Club to MontanaWild. The Centennial Trail continues past MontanaWild to the Ten Mile Creek Park, but the first section of the trail is not accessible. You can, however, use Spring Meadow Park as a more accessible connector.

Visit the trail

Nature Park

Paved out and back- decent accessibility
The accessible portion of this park is a paved trail that goes from the park trailhead (2250 Gold Ave) to the large parking area just south of Batch Fields and Bill Roberts Golf Course. There is no designated ADA parking space.

Visit the park

Tenmile Creek Park

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Moderate accessibility. This park is a bit less than 3 miles (4.8k) as a loop through former agricultural land. A section of the trail crosses, then parallels the Tenmile Creek, before looping out into open space that provides lovely views of the hills surrounding the Helena Valley. Patient and quiet observers may see foxes, a variety of raptors and songbirds year-round, and hear the call of our state bird, the Western Meadowlark during the warmer months. A section the park near the Williams Street parking lot is being restored to native plants.

Visit the park

Prickly Pear Park

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Decent accessibility. Starting from the parking area, this pathway is about 1.4 miles (2.4k) when walked as a full loop. A nice, long section of the trail provides great views of the Prickly Pear Creek wetlands and two well built bridges cross the creek. This is a terrific birding path! The parking lot features an accessible bathroom and ADA parking pad. There is also a short Out and Back spur that leads off to the North from Loop trail.

Visit the park

The Grove

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Moderate accessibility. Starting from JFK Park, this pathway is about 2 miles (3.2k) when walked as a figure eight. A nice, long section of the trail parallels the Prickly Pear Creek, before looping out into open space that provides lovely views of the hills surrounding the Helena Valley. The field portion of the trail is former industrial land that has been remediated and it is absolutely full of sunflowers. This should be a terrific birding path during the migrations and summer months. The Grove is East Helena’s version of the Tenmile Creek park.

Visit the park

Spring Meadow State Park

Some paved, some weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Moderate accessibility.
This park has a loop of about a mile of mostly weathered granite trail with very little elevation gain. Montana eBird shows that visitors to Spring Meadow State Park have recording nearly 190 species of birds (over the course of the year). During the spring and fall migration, SMSP is a very convenient place to see Trumpeter and Tundra Swans, Snow Geese, and many other species of waterfowl. This a great place to engage more deeply with nature. The mile-long loop at SMSP connects with the Tenmile Park and Centennial Trail.

Visit the park

NorthWest Park

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Newly renovated trail surface- decent accessibility. About .9 miles (1.4k) if you loop it as a figure 8. Weathered granite surface and a good paved parking lot. This park is used during the school year for soccer, lacross, softball, and football practice. The park is across the street from Capital High School and to discourge student parking during the schoolday, they often close and lock the gates to the parking lot. This is an unfortunate solution as it excludes all park users from enjoying a pocket of nature in the city limits and eliminates access to the handicapped parking spots.

Visit the park

Upper DeFord Universal Access

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Moderate accessibility. Rising from the Old Shooting Range trailhead parking area, this newly renovated trail winds uphill about .4 miles (.64k) along Davis Gulch Road. The total elevation gain is about 85 feet. With an accessible restroom and ample parking at the trailhead, this is a nice trail to stroll or roll.

Visit the trail

Le Grande Cannon Trail

Former roadway. Accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Surface uneven in many areas. Limited accessibility.
A closed-to-motorized-traffic section of Le Grande Cannon Blvd. that runs about a mile along the NW flank of Mount Helena is generally accessible. Neither end of the trail has dedicated handicapped parking, but there is usually space at either end to park. The ‘Road Closed’ gates at each end are high enough that a wheelchair should be able to go under. Visit the Silverette Trailhead and West LeGrande Trailhead for an image that may help you determine if this trail is truly accessible for your needs.

Visit the trail

LeGrande Cannon Blvd sidewalk

Paved, but does have road/driveway crossings- decent accessibility. This pathway is about 1 mile (1.6k) one way. Decently maintained in the cold months, however, since it lives in the shadow of Mount Helena, it can get icy overnight. Very modest parking exists along the route. Nice views of the valley, but an otherwise suburban landscape. Lots of use by runners, powerwalkers, bikers, and dog walkers.

Accessibility Trail on Mount Helena

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Limited accessibility. This trail is, unfortunately, not as accessible as it is made out to be. For folks with only somewhat-limited mobility, it is a trail with good views, a couple of rest stops, and abundant bird and wildflower activity in the warmer months. It is not up to ADA standards and wheelchairs will likely have a hard time in a few places on the trail. This pathway’s grade is inconsistent and it has several areas where there is a change in the ‘fall-line’. That is to say, it has both an up/down slope and a cross-slope incline of up to 7%. The cross-slope percentage can be up to 250% greater than ADA allows. I offer this information less as a criticism and more as a forewarning for folks who might be caught unaware as they try to go up.

Visit the trail

Memorial Park sidewalk

Paved, but some sidewalk is uneven. Moderate accessibility. This pathway is about .5 mile (.8k) as a loop. Decently maintained in the cold months. Extensive parking parking exists around the park. Three main features of this park are the veteran’s memorial monument, Helena’s municipal pool and splash park, and large playground for kids. There are also picnic tables, mature trees, a bandshell and proximity to coffee. The mature tree tend to attract a decent variety of birds during the spring migration. in an urban landscape.

Sierra Park

Weathered granite surface- accessibility is impacted by snow and rain. Weeds are infiltrating. Limited accessibility.
Adjacent to Rossiter Elementary School in the Helena Valley. About a half mile of paved or hard packed trail that follows the perimeter of the property to the south of the school. Knotweed is taking over on large sections of the pathway, and the grass is encroaching as well. As a result, some of the pathway narrows down to about 24 inches wide. Better to visit early or late in the day, or on weekends as the entire park gets a lot of traffic during the school day. Very popular with dog walkers.