Mount Helena

Directions

Sunset from Summit

The trail is located south of downtown Helena. Drive south on Park Avenue until you see the sign for Mount Helena City Park and Reeder's Village. Drive up through the subdivision on Readers Village Drive to the dirt parking lot.

Trail Quality
There are several trails woven over the mountain.  The primary trails are well maintained.  I think I have been on all the the trails and they offer a variety of difficulty ratings and distances.  Most routes are easy to moderate in difficulty.  The Powerline trail however is basically straight up the mountain and is quite strenuous. 

Overall Impression

Cathedral from the Summit

This is a great trail system simply because it is so close to Helena.  Changing up your route can offer you a different experience so the repeat hike value is high.  The hike can take between 20 minutes and 1 hour and 30 minutes depending on your route and how in shape you are.  I have been using this trail system to train for longer hikes.  The summit of Mount Helena offers great views of Helena and surrounding valley.  Sunrises, sunsets, and the Sleeping Giant are very cool from the top as well.

Refrigerator Canyon

Directions

Trailhead

Take county road 280, otherwise known as York Road. At the York Bar, turn left onto a gravel road and head north about 8 miles to Nelson. At Nelson, turn right heading east toward Hogback Mountain approximately 5 miles. The trailhead sign is large and easily seen from the road. For those with horses, there is a roadside turnout here with a hitching rack, but you may need to go up the road a mile or so to turn around.  (From US Forest Service)

Trail Quality
The trail is well marked from the trailhead and decently groomed. The trail follows the creek all the way past the narrow canyon that named this hike.  For some of the time the creek runs over the the trail.  You can stay mostly try by walking on the rocks.  Past the canyon the trail starts to climb gently as far as I went, about 3 miles up.  Several trees have fallen over the trail but all were cleared away.  There were several spots along the trail were worn from erosion and horse traffic.  Caution the trail through the canyon may be impassable during peak runoff times in the spring.  Difficulty rating is easy. 
 
Overall Impression

Refrigerator Canyon

If you are into Geology, the drive to the trailhead will be interesting for you.  There are many spires and rock formations throughout the drive.  I liked the narrow canyon and walking along the creek.  The temperature is about 15 degrees cooler inside the canyon compared to in the shade outside it.  I was disappointed that the narrow part of the canyon was only about 100 feet long.  Still, the erosion from the creek was neat to see.  The canyon itself was only about a 1/4 mile up the trail.  Beyond the canyon the trail went through a mostly forested areas broken up by several open grassy areas.  There was evidence of lush wildflowers that would have been in bloom about a month before I hiked it.  There was not much to see past the canyon.  Overall, I enjoyed this hike but it seemed like a long way to drive for a 1/2 mile walk.  It seemed like more of a place to take a picnic with the family as opposed to hiking. 

Rating 5 out of 10

Hiking Montana

Montana is a unique place that is rugged and unforgiving yet beautiful and serene.  I have lived here for my entire life and still am amazed by how a place can take my breath away.  It doesn't seem to matter if Montana offers me its diverse wildlife, panoramic mountain ridges or one of the areas famous sunsets, I always seems to be in awe.   Starting a blog about my travels throughout the state seemed like an good way to chronicle my adventures.  I hope to post pictures and write about my experience on a given trail or park.  Hopefully, any reader will find my perspectives helpful and interesting.