Centennial Park
Location: ///movie.clay.piano
Surface: level, nearly flat pathway. Main loop is paved, several short spurs are decomposed granite.
Distance: 1.25 mile (2km). This a loop measurement
Rise: About 20 feet (6m) of rise in two or three locations. Gentle grade and short duration.
Services: None
Trailhead info: Lots of paved parking.
Be aware: Can be icy in the winter before plowing occurs or after warm days/subfreezing nights.
Maintenance: Pretty good. Is plowed by 7:30am in the winter and trucks revisit to spread sand during the day.
Best months for use: Year-round, if maintenance is good.
Add-ons: Centennial Trail, tunnel to Great Northern Town Center.
Some birds during the spring and fall migration. Carroll College (adjacent to park) has 33 species recorded.
The main loop that circumnavigates the park is paved and 1.25 miles around. If you walk this path as a figure 8, it becomes 1.5 miles. There are also a few weathered granite cutover paths (the dotted lines in the map below). If you make a few loops loop and add the cutovers, you can easily make this park 2 miles; mostly paved.
There is a modest rise near the fenced-in dog park near the NE portion of the paved trail. Moving clockwise around the trail (from the main parking area) allows users to come down the rise, counter-clockwise movement will require some extra effort as you will need to go up the incline. My movement monitor in my Apple Watch indicates that the overall elevation gain in Centennial is about 15 feet from lowest to highest points.
This park sits at the main crossroads in Helena. Look for the huge American Flag nea the corner of Lynndale and Last Chance Gulch. Centennial is well well used. In the winter months, the park is plowed by 8am, and decently maintained. Centennial Park connects with the Centennial Trail.
