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Missoula's 6-mile Milwaukee Road Path provides a valuable east-west commuting route through the city. The mostly paved pathway includes occasional on-road segments but is well-marked with excellent at-grade road crossings.
About the Route
On the trail's western end, the route traverses a mix of commercial, light industrial,l and residential areas. The route connects to McCormick Park and Ogren Field, which is a hub for several local trails. East of the 'hub', the trail is often called the Kim Williams Nature Trail, as it passes through a namesake nature preserve.
The trail and preserve was named in memory of Kim Williams, a long-time Missoula resident, in 1987. With a degree in human ecology from Cornell University, she was a naturalist with a knack for writing, publishing the book Eating Wild Plants (among others), and penning a nature column in The Missoulian. For more than a decade, she also frequently appeared as a guest commentator on the popular National Public Radio program “All Things Considered.” The pathway runs by the University of Montana, where she earned a master’s degree and taught classes on plants; today, the school offers a fellowship in her name for journalism students interested in the environment. The section through the nature preserve is a bit rougher in quality, whereas most of the rest of the rail is paved.
The Milwaukee Road Path comes to its eastern end at Deer Creek Rd.
Connections
At the McCormick Park hub, trail users can connect to the Bitterroot Trail, which heads south, and the Riverfront Trail which heads northeast.
The Milwaukee Road Path is part of the Great American Rail Trail, a developing 3,700-mile route between Washington D.C. and Washington State.
The Milwaukee Road Path runs between N Grove St. (Missoula) and Deer Creek Rd. (Missoula).
Parking is available at:
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
It has its moments of beauty. Well traveled and well marked. It's a fun trail.
While this isn’t the most scenic trail, it is a nice way to get east to west, across town. While it is mostly a residential trail, it is well paved and there are good signs to show you the way. It does cross several streets. It will connect up with the trail that runs along the river, and get you to the University.
This trail is now signed as The Milwaukee Road Path.
Milwaukee Trail (The Milwaukee Road Path)
This trail is a segment of the Great American Rail-Trail (GART).
Location: Missoula, MT
Parking: Parked along street on west end of trail.
Trail Condition: Nice paved path until the University area and then becomes gravel to end. The gravel portion isn’t real rough and did see folks on road bikes on this part of trail.
Signage: Overall good directional signage with exception of one intersection.
Comments: This trail is actually 6 miles in length. TrailLink indicates this trail ends at the “hub” but it now officially continues east past the hub for about 4.2 miles to the underpass with the train tracks and I-90. TrailLink shows the Kim Williams Nature Trail starting at the hub but none of the trail signage indicates this trail. The Milwaukee Road Path does pass through the Kim Williams Nature Area. Overall I really enjoyed this trail as it passed through residential areas, parks, and into the nature area along the river. Highly recommend as a Missoula option.
As the description notes, this ain't purty but it's a great link for people who live on the west side of town to access downtown and the university. The trail is in great shape, having just opened in 2011, and is well marked, especially the at-grade crossings. As the city begins rehabilitating the disused commercial areas, the trail will only improve from a visual standpoint. Not sure about some of the junky back yards, though, but at least Missoula is developing a more extensive off-road access corridor!
Parking for Kim Williams Nature Trail / Ron Mac Donald Riverfront is available in McCormick Park, N46.87245 W114.00314 The Zero Mile Marker for the Bitterroot Branch Trail, Montana Rail Link, Milwaukee Rail Trail/Kim Williams Nature trail is at N46.87077 W114.00797 The Kim Williams Nature Trail is gravel/rock surface for the eastern 2.5 miles of the 4.2 total miles on the Milwaukee RR Grade from the Zero Mile Post. The Milwaukee extends 0.5 miles west to parking at Trailhead at Dakota St / S Russell St. N46.87067 W114.01805 Very active use of these trails. An enjoyable morning ride in Missoula the “Garden City”. Noel Keller 18 Apr 09
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