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Out and about

Hikers on the Stateline Trail above Cliff Lake in the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness. (Montana Wilderness Association p / Photo by Montana Wilderness Association)

OUTTRAILS – 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 hiking guide. on the World Wide Web.

The site already features more than 200 trail descriptions and that’s just a start, organizers say.

More than 70 association volunteers have contributed to the guide so far.

“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.”

A similar online trail and trip reports service is offered in the Evergreen State by the Washington Trails Association at wta.org.

Founded in 1958, Montana Wilderness Association is among the country’s oldest grassroots wilderness conservation organizations. One of the group’s missions is to keep public lands in public hands.

The association also stewards the Montana portion of the Continental Divide Trail that runs from Canada to Mexico.

The Hikewildmontana.org website allows users to:

- Find and hike trails recommended by local residents.

- Locate trails on an electronic map.

- Choose a path based on distance and elevation gain.

- Discover waterfalls, badlands, ancient forests, big views, and other natural features.

- Review trail conditions added by recent hikers and add their own trip reports.

- Contribute trail descriptions.

In addition to providing trail information, hikewildmontana.org offers information about businesses near trailheads that offer outdoor supplies as wells as 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, Montana’s Department of Commerce director.

“We want our visitors to explore more of Montana, beyond the Yellowstone and Glacier areas.”

The online guide depends on volunteers across the state who hike, photograph and map the trails listed on the website.