Montana Off-Road Trails

Little Bear Road is an 11.4-mile trail in the Little Bear area of the Gallatin Mountains, a fun area trail with nice views and lots of wildlife.

The road begins easy and consists of graded and rough dirt that could be driven with a stock 2WD vehicle when dry, but the difficulty soon increases. The trail becomes narrower with larger rolling dirt bumps and undulations. This area also has larger mud pits with deep holes and depressions, sometimes filled with water. A 4x4 is highly recommended in these sections because the mud is incredibly slick and can pack into tires. The upper trail is rocky. Several fairly steep sections have loose rock, deep ruts, and potholes.

Little Bear Road connects to several other roads, including Wilson Creek Divide Road (3138), Little Bear B Road (980B), Bear Divide Road (3141), and Big Bear Lake Road (6969).

There are a few small camping areas off of the second half of the road, as well as two larger campsites with fire pits, including one at the turnaround at the end of the road.

Overall this is a fun road that allows you to get deep into the woods and enjoy the views and wildlife. A little over half of the road is an easy, relaxing drive, while the few more challenging sections provide excitement and an opportunity to practice technical driving. This makes the trail suitable for beginners looking to get more experience offroading but does not want to be white-knuckled the entire time.

The South Fork of Langhor Creek is an easy out and back trail with plenty of dispersed camping. The road is level, but the final third of the trail is full of potholes, small ruts, and water bars. There are a few protruding rocks as well, and usually, most of the potholes are full of water and mud. Most campsites along the trail have rock fire rings, logs to sit on, and they are large enough to accommodate multiple vehicles. There is also an official campground before the bridge across the river. Near the trail's end is a large rock formation with a campsite. Most of the canyon can be seen from the top of this rock if you are willing to do a little climbing. A short hiking trail at the end of the road connects to the History Rock hiking trail. This road is easy and close to town, so expect to see other people and vehicles. Over holiday weekends, all the campsites will likely be in use.

Madison Arm Road offers multiple day-use sites along the South Fork Madison River and the Madison Arm of Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone, with access to the Madison Arm Resort Campground and Marina. This easy trail offers a nice drive through the trees and access to picnic spots, cabin rentals, RV, and tent camping sites. Unlike driving through Yellowstone National Park, you can enjoy a drive through the woods here rather than parking on the road in bison jams. Due to bear activity, camping is restricted to designated sites only, which along this trail would be at the resort only.

From rolling grasslands to winding mountains and a creek with more twists and turns than a maze, this scenic and easy trail is not one to miss. Blacktail Road is part of a network of interconnected trails offering more miles of exploration than can be explored in one tank of gas. Traveling through private, BLM, and Montana State Trust Lands, this trail showcases diverse landscapes and numerous spurs to explore.

Dispersed camping is allowed on BLM lands, but there is no distinction along this trail between the individual management/ownership boundaries. There are signs for East Fork Blacktail Campground, but amenities and availability are unknown.