You don’t have to drive halfway across Montana to find a little adventure. Sometimes the best way to spend a November afternoon is practically in your own backyard.

There’s something about November in Missoula. The leaves are mostly gone, the mountains are getting their first serious taste of winter, and the crowds that filled our favorite trails all summer have largely disappeared.

For some people, that means putting away the hiking boots until spring. We think they’re missing out.

Welcome to the Outdoor Desk, a new Zootown Lowdown feature about the places, people and adventures that make living in western Montana special. Hiking, skiing, hunting, fishing, and places you have driven past a hundred times and never stopped at.

For the first edition, we are keeping it close to home. All three of these are open right now — we checked each one against its land manager before writing this.

1. The M Trail — Missoula's backyard challenge

Where: Mount Sentinel, behind the University of Montana
Effort: Short and relentlessly uphill
Best for: A fast workout and the view that explains why you live here

It is probably the most recognisable hike in Missoula. But when was the last time you actually climbed it?

It is three-quarters of a mile to the M, climbing more than 600 feet across 13 switchbacks — the count the university used when it rerouted the trail. The reward is the city, the Clark Fork and the whole valley laid out underneath you.

The mountain is bigger than its most famous trail. The grassy face is 1,000 acres of native prairie — half City of Missoula open space, half university land — with ponderosa and Douglas fir on top, and black bears, mountain lions, coyotes and foxes living on it.

Outdoor Desk tip: The trail is steep and fully exposed, and the descent is where people get hurt. Ice forms on the upper switchbacks well before it shows up in the parking lot. Bring traction when conditions warrant it, and turn around if the footing is not safe. The university also asks visitors to respect posted trail closures and stay on established trail — erosion from cut switchbacks is one of its two biggest problems up there.

2. The Rattlesnake — a little wilderness without leaving town

Where: Rattlesnake National Recreation Area, north of Missoula
Effort: As easy or as hard as you want to make it
Best for: Forest, creek noise, and room to turn around whenever you like

The Forest Service lists the Rattlesnake as open year-round. Congress established the national recreation area and the wilderness behind it in 1980; it sits on the Missoula Ranger District, a few minutes north of downtown.

It offers something Mount Sentinel does not. Instead of climbing above the city, you walk into forest, along the creek, on a main corridor that stays gentle for as far as most people want to go.

You do not need to make a day of it. Pick a turnaround point and enjoy the walk. Late fall is the good season here, once the summer traffic thins out.

Getting there: From I-90, take the Van Buren Street exit (#105) and head north. Van Buren becomes Rattlesnake Drive; stay on it about three miles to the recreation area entrance.

Outdoor Desk tip: There is no potable water at the site — bring your own. Dog and bike rules vary by zone and by season here in a way they do not on Mount Sentinel, so check the posted rules at the trailhead rather than assuming. Shaded sections hold mud and ice.

3. Blue Mountain — big views and room to roam

Where: Blue Mountain Recreation Area, southwest of Missoula
Effort: Whatever you choose — there are 41 miles to pick from
Best for: A flexible afternoon, the dog, or going somewhere you haven’t been

Blue Mountain does not get the attention Mount Sentinel and the Rattlesnake do, and it is the biggest of the three: 4,900 acres and 41 miles of system trails, also listed open year-round, with views across the Missoula valley to the Sapphire and Rattlesnake mountains.

That size is the point. You can take a short loop or spend the whole afternoon, and in late fall — shorter days, less predictable weather — having somewhere this big this close to town is a real advantage.

Getting there: From I-90, take the U.S. Highway 93 exit (#101) and head south through town. Where 93 meets Blue Mountain Road at a signalled T intersection, turn right and head west to the main trailhead.

Outdoor Desk tip, and this one matters in November: Blue Mountain is shared ground. Hikers, bikes, horses and off-highway vehicles all use it, and Montana’s general deer and elk rifle season runs through Nov. 29. None of the three areas here posted a hunting closure when we checked, but on shared ground in rifle season the sensible move is the same one every year: wear blaze orange, put some on the dog, and stay on the trail.

A little preparation goes a long way

November in western Montana is beautiful, and it deserves respect.

Daylight goes early, temperatures drop fast, and a trail that is dry at the parking lot can be ice a few hundred feet higher. None of these three sites has potable water.

Bring layers, water, real footwear and a charged phone. Tell someone where you are going. And do not be too proud to turn around when conditions change — the trail will still be there.

You don’t have to summit anything or burn a whole day to have a good one outside. Sometimes an hour on a trail is enough to remember why this is a good place to live.

Looking for something farther afield? Here are more hikes near Missoula.

Got a favourite trail, fishing hole, outdoor tradition or hidden Montana gem we should feature? Hit reply — we’d love to hear about it.

Get outside, Zootown. Adventure is closer than you think.

Sources

• University of Montana Natural Areas, Mount Sentinel, read Nov. 10, 2026
• University of Montana, “UM Announces Reroute of M Trail”
• USDA Forest Service, Lolo National Forest, Rattlesnake National Recreation Area & Wilderness — site status read Nov. 10, 2026
• USDA Forest Service, Lolo National Forest, Blue Mountain Recreation Area — site status read Nov. 10, 2026
• Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, 2026 seasons and regulations