Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    M Trail

    4.9 (13 reviews)

    M Trail Photos

    Recommended Reviews - M Trail

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Tiffiny H.

    I was in town for the Missoula Half Marathon and my friend and I hiked this the next day. It was a little painful on already tired legs, but totally worth it. Though it is a bit steep, the view at the top makes the journey a noble one. I recommend!

    At the very top!
    Brian F.

    If you use Google Maps to go to Mount Sentinel, it'll route you on the other side and directly up to the mountain. Instead you should find directions to Phyllis Washington Park on the University of Montana campus instead and that should take you close to the parking lot and trailhead. This hike and the M is managed by UM and you'll need to pay during the week but it is free on the weekends and there's tons of parking in the lot. There's a couple ways to go up the main way, but the one that you see on AllTrails is the shortest but also has the higher elevation gain within a short distance. From the trailhead to the top of the mountain it's a ~2,000ft elevation gain in ~1.5miles which makes this a steep hike. There are switchbacks at the beginning that have constant incline but there are benches along the way if you need to take a rest. It's very rocky as well and there are a couple other directions that you can go that are a bit longer but not as rocky. It's also good to go down those ways too since it's better on your knees. I consider myself in decent shape but there were many times when I considered not going all the way up because I was exhausted and dripping sweat, but I took breaks as I needed as persevered to the top and I'm glad. The view from the top is amazing and way better than what you would see only to the M or halfway. When I visited Missoula for the first time I was seeing that M from all over the city and it looked tiny from a distance but when I came up on it it was so huge that I didn't even realize it was right next to me! It's definitely a moderate hike even though it's relatively short because of the fast elevation gain.

    Missoula
    Tillman K.

    The M hike is a great trail. About 30 mins one way. Straight up with traverses. All ages. I saw a few families and elderly on the trail. As a 27 year old in good shape I thought it would be a piece of cake. Well I started going up and it isn't easy haha but if a kid can do it and an 85 year old, you can! Trail does get busy as morning picks up. Great view of Missoula.

    (",)
    Rodrigo T.

    The cheapest and awesomest thing you can do by yourself or even with your colleagues is to hike. Since this spot is at striking distance from out hotel, we gathered up all our coworkers and set off for that giant M on the side of that mountain. Right before you start the climb, there is a bathroom. Stop here if you have a weak bladder. The switchbacks are pretty easy. We did bring along someone who never hiked before and the benches at the end does help. Took us a bit to get to the M, but eventually we made it. I carried her to go breakfast. We sat down at the top and ate it while enjoying the wonderful view. Anyways, life is awesome when there are places like these. The trail is definitely pretty well kept. We even saw a doe on the way up. She was hella excited to see it. Thank you so much for reading my review. I hope this helps with your decision making experience. Enjoy your awesome yelptastic day!!!

    View from the M
    Jason F.

    I hiked this trail with my wife last month early on a Saturday Morning. Whenever we had arrived into Missoula I immediately took note of the M on the hill and once I learned that we could hike up to it I knew that I wanted to. Parking for the trail is on the University of Montana campus and although it took us a little while to find it there were plenty of empty spaces. The hike up to the M consists of a number of different switchbacks all while constantly going up. If I remember correctly it is about 700 ft and .7 miles up to the bottom of the M. The trail continues up to the top of the mountain and I wish that my wife and I had the time to do it but on this day we did not. Even so that is quite a bit of climbing in a short amount of time. Thankfully the trails are well manicured and the view at the M makes it all worthwhile. Whenever you turn around and look back out towards Missoula you have an amazing panoramic view which you won't forget. The bottom line for me is that I would do this hike again and again. Don't get me wrong, this is certainly a strenuous hike, especially if you aren't used to much vertical. However the sense of accomplishment combined with the view from the M easily make it worth its while.

    Mt. Sentinel hike kicked my butt!
    J'Nene M.

    Upon pulling into the parking lot at the University of Montana, and looking up at the "hillside", my first thought was, this hike is going to be a piece of cake! In this case, looks are indeed very deceiving. This hike is very steep! You do have the option of using the switchbacks to go up the mountain, but we went straight up and straight down. My recommendations are to start early in the day during the summer, bring water, and bring walking sticks if you have them, especially for the hike down. If you have any breathing issues (asthma, COPD), bring your inhaler AND consider using the switchbacks. It is a beautiful and worthwhile hike. I'm so glad we did it!

    From right above the M.

    See all

    Photo of Tari O.
    185
    1013
    4079

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Michael K.
    10
    625
    134

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Best trail in missoulA. Little slippery when wet. Can closer all of Missoula from the top.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Super easy peasy convenient hike in between classes. Great View free parking and nothing like the Great outdoors.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ryan C.
    412
    1285
    638

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - M Trail

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Greenough Park

    Greenough Park

    4.7(3 reviews)
    2.0 km

    The folks living near this 42 acre park are lucky. A oasis in Missoula with lots of trees and a…read morecreek called the Rattlesnake Creek running through it. When I was there it seemed that many locals had walked to the park with their dogs. They are supposed keep their dogs on a lease per local ordinance though three people were letting the dogs run around of the lease. This is a problem especially when the dogs are not well trained and jump up on strangers. I was not to happy about a wet dog jumping on me. There is a small free parking area near Spruce Street with boards put up by the local Audubon Society to educate visitors to what type of birds like the park. Most of the park was donated by The Greenough Family in 1902.

    Greenough Park is many things to many people. While it definitely is one of Missoula's oldest…read moreparks, with all the amenities that one would expect to find in a Montana park of this type: hiking trails, picnic areas, and plenty of open & wooded areas to enjoy, there is much more. It's a Central turning-point to a ying-yang gear, A Zen way-station for transitioning to and from. It's a source of inspiration and a place to forget. A location to vanish into the ether, returning only when you choose. A point to recharge. Without a doubt, Greenough Park is one of my most favorite and cherished places on the planet, and is the soul of the Missoula community. Given as a gift to the city of Missoula by Thomas and Tennessee Greenough in 1902 so that the residents of Missoula would always have a place "during the heated days of summer, the beautiful days of autumn and the balmy days of spring find a comfortable, romantic and poetic retreat." (With one catch: attempt to develop it and the ownership would immediately revert to the Greenough heirs) the park's one-hundred plus history has seen its share of change and alteration, but for the most part has remained untouched by the areas encroaching development. And while Missoula doesn't have near the stress & tension found in a megapolis, it's still great asset to have that give you an opportunity to have a picnic in the woods, meditate or read a book by the creek, or get "lost" for an hour or an afternoon on one of the many trails. The park and space mean different things to different people. So much so, that if you were to ask ten different people what Greenough means to them, you would probably get ten very unique answers. So, the best thing one could do is to visit. Sit by the flowing waters of the Rattlesnake, or explore the many trails and come away with your own perspective. It's definitely time well-spent

    Photos
    Greenough Park
    Greenough Park
    Greenough Park

    See all

    Mount Jumbo - Sleeping Woman Peak and Missoula foothills, April 2013

    Mount Jumbo

    4.5(4 reviews)
    1.0 km

    Missoula really likes their big letters: right across the "M" Trail is the Mount Jumbo trail that…read morehas the big "L" on it. I'm surprised I don't see the rest of the alphabet! To get here type in "Mount Jumbo Trailhead" on Google Maps. It'll take you to a residential area with a couple parking spots which is basically neighborhood street parking; you'll see the trail head with a sign as you pull up. There are a lot fewer people here than the "M" but there are also fewer parking spots, so come early if you can. Similar to the "M" Trail there's a bit of an incline to the "L" Trail. I think the initial incline for the "M" is slightly harder but this is still a decent incline hike. When you get to the "L" on the mountain there's a set of stairs on the left of it to continue going. Not long after some narrow walkways you'll end up on this wide-open area with tons of wavy hilltops which is just beautiful. There are mountains and trees all around and is very peaceful and quiet. If you go 2 miles you'll reach the highest point of the trail but that's technically not the end. There's a slight decline after the highest point for another mile until you get to the saddle. It's called that because it's in between the two hilltops. Unfortunately it was very cloudy from all the smoke in the area so the view wasn't what I was hoping for and I didn't go all the way to the saddle and but it was still a nice hike and still decent views of the city and surrounding areas.

    I don't want a medium sized mountain. Not even a large one. Nope. I want a Jumbo Mount. Well, here…read moreyou have it. Mount Jumbo. This is also known as Mount Loyola for some reason, but nobody is "loyala" to that name. It's iconic and it is beautiful and it truly towers over Missoula in the western part of Montana. The locals called it "the thing in the way" which is a pretty awesome name for a mountain. It's definitely one of the most beautiful mountains in the country and they spent about eight million trying to make sure this mountain would always be protected, which is good so well done to the locals for doing that. Honestly other Republican states would have exploited the sh** out of their rural monstrosities, but not this town... which is a very very liberal town. It's absolutely stunning. And I will always like this town for being a tiny pocket of blue in a sea of red as they say.

    Photos
    Mount Jumbo - View of Rattlesnake Canyon with Stuart Peak in the distance, from Mount Jumbo, April 2013

    View of Rattlesnake Canyon with Stuart Peak in the distance, from Mount Jumbo, April 2013

    Mount Jumbo - Helicopter flying through Hellgate Canyon, with Mt Sentinel in foreground and Lolo Peak in background, April 2013

    Helicopter flying through Hellgate Canyon, with Mt Sentinel in foreground and Lolo Peak in background, April 2013

    Mount Jumbo - Looking towards the Rattlesnake Range from the slopes of Mt Jumbo, April 2013

    See all

    Looking towards the Rattlesnake Range from the slopes of Mt Jumbo, April 2013

    Big Sky Safaris - Red fox hunting

    Big Sky Safaris

    5.0(6 reviews)
    1.3 km

    Spending the day with a resident expert in her field was so extra special i can't even say enough!…read moreWenFei answered our myriad of questions perfectly and made our trip out to Bison National Park memorable! In addition to knowing all things (and i do mean all) about the local birds, including their sounds and habitats, she could also share information perfectly about the bison, the antelopes (that we saw that day) and the native grizzlies. The local donuts were amazing as well as our lunch out with some local Montana fare. All in all a superb day, chock full of information that will have your feeling like an expert too! Don't miss this opportunity!

    Wenfei organized a full day trip for us to the Flathead Wilderness Area. We went driving on bumpy…read moremountain roads, hiking up the side of a mountain alongside a picturesque babbling brook and picnicked next to a sparkling lake with a view of the mountains. Our focus was photography, and our route did not disappoint on that score. We also stopped for fresh baked goods and coffee on our way out of Missoula which made the ride that much more pleasant. We are generally outdoor people but we chose to use a tour company because we were traveling with a baby and didn't know how to find routes that would be child friendly and not overly demanding. We would definitely recommend Wenfei's guiding services and have referred several friends to her Big Sky Safaris for Montana travel. In particular her being a biologist makes an outstanding enhancement to hiking - we are not very knowledgeable about birds and animal droppings, and Wenfei pointed out all sorts of interesting things for us as well as small details worth photographing that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. Wenfei made us very comfortable, gave us excellent gear advice, and spared us many hours of poring over maps to identify good areas to visit. She also was really knowledgeable about the local plants and birds during our early autumn MT trip. This was a great splurge during our MT trip and one we'd do again in a heart beat.

    Photos
    Big Sky Safaris - Pronghorn buck lying in a bed of arrowleaf balsamroot

    Pronghorn buck lying in a bed of arrowleaf balsamroot

    Big Sky Safaris - Typical autumn stroll along the Bitterroot River in Missoula

    Typical autumn stroll along the Bitterroot River in Missoula

    Big Sky Safaris - Western meadowlark

    See all

    Western meadowlark

    University Mountain - Bench for resting, Hellgate Canyon 2500 ft. below.

    University Mountain

    4.0(1 review)
    3.6 km

    At 5,806 feet above sea level, the summit of University Mountain looms almost half a vertical mile…read moreabove the University of Montana campus, with plunging views into nearby Hellgate and Pattee Canyons. Despite such prominence, it is far less visited than Mount Sentinel (elevation 5,158 ft.), marked halfway up its steep slope by the letter "M," which acts like a magnet for students and trail runners alike who switchback up and down on a regular basis. Even joggers and hikers who use other trails in Pattee Canyon rarely make a stop here, preferring instead to drop down to the Clark Fork and the Kim Williams Trail (via Crazy Canyon Road and the Hellgate Canyon Trail). That's too bad. Because University Mountain is a key stopping point on what I consider to be the best short hike that you can do from the university district: a four summit loop that visits, in sequence, the summits of South Sentinel, University, Radio Tower Peak (elevation 5,543 ft.) and North Sentinel before dropping down back into town. The loop begins and ends at the Evans Ave trailhead. It's around 7-8 miles long with 3,000-3,500 feet of elevation gain/loss, depending on which trail connections you choose. Parts are fairly steep (more than 1,000 feet gain over less than 1 mile of distance), but the views are incredibly rewarding. From the exposed ridgelines, you can gaze in various directions at other prominent peaks outside of Missoula - Lolo, St. Mary's, Stuart, Cha-paa-qn, Sheep, etc. It's a convenient way to orient yourself in three-dimensional space, gazing across miles of open sky in all four compass directions. When the snow falls, as it did earlier this week (October 3), then this hike is particularly lovely, although you may need snowshoes if the accumulation is heavy. The feeling of isolation is very strong, despite the proximity of Missoula down below. But 2500 ft. is a *lot* of empty space, and one of the pleasures of this loop is the chance to gaze down into Hellgate Canyon below your feet, or back South towards the Bitterrroot Range, or West towards the airport where tiny-looking planes are landing, or North into the Rattlesnake, or East at the Sapphire Range. The smells of fresh pine, the feel of rushing wind, the crunch of frozen snow, the sound of your beating heart, it all flows and fixates in your imagination. Three or four hours later, as you walk the residential streets on your way home, you gaze up at the steep slopes of Sentinel and remember what it was like to be perched atop its twin peaks, to disappear into the tree-filled saddle between them, to struggle step-by-step up the exposed ridges, and to reach the cluster of radio towers at the halfway point of the hike. This is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's close enough to become a part of your seasonal routine. Each season the loop feels and looks different, and it's doable 12 months out of the year. As much as I love the university down below, the best classroom is higher up, at the summit of University Mountain. You'll learn more there than you can in any seminar, about nature, about time, about space, about the untapped reservoirs of strength in your body, and about where you fit, in a metaphysical sense, in it all. Standing alone on the summit, where the terrestrial colors of land melt into the blue infinity of sky, you perch on unsteady feet, pause to let your pulse subside, and discover in a lightning flash of unexpected insight just what a great thing it is, to be able to breathe. Then, when your eyes have adjusted to the immensities of distance, you blink, swallow, and smile. Time to move on. The next summit awaits.

    Photos
    University Mountain - Trail to Mount Sentinel (North Peak), October 2012

    Trail to Mount Sentinel (North Peak), October 2012

    University Mountain - Summit of University Mountain from the Sentinel saddle, October 2012

    Summit of University Mountain from the Sentinel saddle, October 2012

    University Mountain - University Mountain in snow and pine, October 2012.

    See all

    University Mountain in snow and pine, October 2012.

    M Trail - hiking - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...