Find the top rated horseback riding trails in Montana, whether you're looking for an easy short horseback riding trail or a long horseback riding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a horseback riding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The asphalt trail definitely has 5 star potential, but the cracks in the asphalt are jarring and take away from being able to look at the mountains and surroundings. More signage would be helpful, but the are a few map signs out there. We had to pay $8 to park our out of state car at Headwaters Park. There is a restroom there.
10 ft wide Paved with mostly aging asphalt ( lots of horizontal cracks), Part rail trail ( rail grade), part greenway (slopes, underpasses, road crossings, through parks, bike lanes). Not scenic ( except Giant Springs was lovely, some nice art on west shore), runs past sewage treatment plant, refineries, active rail lines, rusty vehicles, storage facilities, historic and active dams. Interesting ride ( active rail lines, historic and active dams, bridges. Did manage to get an interesting 30 miles in biking all of the paved sections. Glad I didn’t ride my road bike, was fine on hybrid. Interesting ride if you are in the area.
We rode this with my 10 year old son and 9 year old niece. Very family friendly ride with a picnic at the turnaround and some creek dipping on the way back. Beautiful scenery and a great way to cover 20 miles.
Enjoyed the trail. Rode from Eureka to Rexford. First portion (half nearly) of the trail is old railroad bed until it comes to an abrupt end. Directional signs are non-existent but most of the trail is easy to follow, with an except. At the end of the railroad bed section the trail passes by a primitive camping area. At that point leave the trail to the left and follow gravel road up the hill to the highway. Follow highway to right maybe a half mile. Turn right again on to first gravel road through an area of houses. The road is posted private road for residents. Follow downhill staying left until end and pickup trail off the side of the road. Easy to follow from there past the Rexford Bench Campground area. Trail very nice to the end. There are some information panels about the trail and projects.
Back in Kalispell and rode first thing on Saturday morning. Very little traffic on the streets and on trail. Still a very nice short trail that connects to other trails on the west end. Will ride again and connect to other trails for a longer ride. Enjoyed this one.
Passing by on I-90 and needed a break. Started at Rest Area and rode to end. Not much changed since last summer. Trail still over grown along the older section of trail. Still a nice trail and great for a break from the drive. Did see a couple other people on the trail.
Very little trail traffic. The Zimmerman trail end can be a little to enter or exit, crossing a traffic circle across a highways with only blinking yellow lights. Trail is paved with no abrupt transition.
I rode this in the reverse direction from Taft to Mullan as part of a bikepacking trip in July 2025. The NorPac was one of the highlights of the trip, with smoother gravel than the Old Milwaukee Trail or the Route of the Olympian. From Taft (the freeway exit for the Hiawatha Route), the trail is fairly easy to find. Just go back on the frontage road past some large industrial buildings, and the trail will start up the mountain underneath I90.
The Borax Tunnel is indeed closed, however, it would be very difficult to even access it. The bypass road is very clearly the only route to take, and while steeper than the rest of the trail, it is not long or too steep (6-7% gradient). The original trail to the tunnel is blocked by a huge piles of old trees at the bottom and a large berm at the top.
Lookout Pass has a few snacks, similar to the East Portal trailhead of the Hiawatha. Staying on the gravel road on the otherside of the parking lot, it eventually narrows and once again you're descending on smooth dirt down the Idaho side. It would be difficult to get lost. There is a major junction with a hard right turn and another instance where the trail bypasses the Shoshone Park road.
If you're coming from the Idaho side to start, the easiest way to describe how to access the trail is to navigate to the Fish Hatchery, and then make a 90 degree turn to the left and enter the trail through the trees.
I rode this route in both directions on a bikepacking trip in July 2025. The first leg, we started at the East Portal Parking lot and rode all the way down to Saint Regis. The gravel is smooth and fast going downhill until about Saltese. Around Haugan, the mountains open up, the gradient drops close to 0%, and you're a bit more exposed to the sun. The worst conditions were the last six miles into Saint Regis. Noise from I90 was never an issue, and we passed less than three motorized vehicles the entire time. I'd highly recommend the section from East Portal until the Old Dominion trestle. Would be a nice addition to the Hiawatha for those seeking a bit more distance.
My wife and I rode the Shortlineline trail on a recent visit to Yellowstone. We had a terrific time. The scenery was breathtaking. Especially the parts of the trail that ran next to the South Fork of the Madison river. The trail ascends at a very gentle 1% to 3% grade. But we were super impressed with how well maintained the trail is and the informational signs along the way were excellent and very interesting. Personally, we were kind of grateful that E bikes are not permitted on the trail. I’m sure that’s somewhat controversial, but it definitely meant that this experience for us was extremely peaceful and quieted our souls.
First, it states on here that no e-bikes are allowed. One of the staff at the campground we were staying, said she sees e-bikes on it all the time. So, we took our chances. Yes, there are several signs stating no e-bikes. We kept our speed around 10 mph, and always pedaled. Very peaceful and beautiful trail. We saw a coyote and a deer. Riding along the shoreline of the river was serene.
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