TRAILS -- Montana has launched a statewide online hiking guide.
Montana Wilderness Association , with a grant from the state Office of Tourism, has gone live with Hikewildmontana.org , Montana’s first online, statewide hiking guide, which already features more than 200 trail descriptions.
More than 70 MWA volunteers have contributed to the guide, and that’s just a start, organizers say.
“For 55 years MWA has been leading people into some of Montana’s most beautiful places through our Wilderness Walks program,” says MWA Executive Director Brian Sybert. “Hikewildmontana.org builds on that tradition of connecting people to the places that deserve protection.”
Founded in 1958, Montana Wilderness Association is one of the country’s oldest grassroots wilderness conservation organization. One of the group’s missions is to keep public lands in public hands.
The group also stewards the Montana portion of the Continental Divide Trail.
Hikewildmontana.org allows users to:
- Hike trails recommended by local residents.
- Locate trails on an electronic map.
- Choose a perfect path based on distance and elevation gain.
- Discover waterfalls, badlands, ancient forests, big views, and other natural wonders.
- Review trail conditions added by recent hikers and add their own trip reports.
- Contribute their own trail descriptions.
In addition to providing trail information, hikewildmontana.org offers information about businesses near trailheads that offer not just outdoor supplies, but also burgers, beer, breakfast, accommodations, and other amenities hikers crave.
“When the Office of Tourism reviewed MWA’s grant application for creating hikewildmontana.org , we knew right away how valuable this guide would be to enhancing the visitor experience,” says Meg O’Leary, Director of Montana’s Department of Commerce, which administers the Office of Tourism.
“We want our visitors to explore more of Montana, beyond the Yellowstone and Glacier areas.”
The online guide depends on dozens of MWA volunteers across the state who hike, photograph, and map the trails listed on the website.
