MTB More Butte

When I ran into the Forest Service last year on the local trails, they told me about some new trail that they had been working on north of town from Elk Park to the Electric Peaks area.  Fast forward to spring and voila the trails are finished and ready for the taste of rubber!

I had explored the Electric Peaks area by Thunderbolt Mtn a couple of years ago and thought that the area had potential to have some hidden gems.  This new trail links into that network and now offers more options to really put in some long, epic rides.  My thought was that you could actually link trails from Helena all the way to Butte for a long day in the saddle through some singletrack that does not get much traffic.  You would have to self support because there is no place to stop and get food or parts.  My guess is it would probably be around 80 miles with some sweet views along the way.

I drove up to Elk Park yesterday and dodged the storms in the area in order to do some exploring on said new trail.   I parked in the first parking area with access to the konda trail.  After 4 miles or chunky, rocky, and bumpy terrain it spits you out by the lowland campground area.  This is where the choice trail starts.  The trail is much smoother and offers up some really great views of the Pintlers, Fleecer, and even the Tobacco's in a couple of spots.

I did an out and back partially through the lower section and the trail looks broken in enough that you could ride it the full 16 miles towards the Thunderbolt Mtn network of trails.  There are plenty of water sources along the way where you could fill up if you had a filter.  Not only did I not have a filter, but I left my 2 water bottles sitting on the counter at home - DOH!

The riding was good and my timing was impeccable as the first rain drops started to sprinkle right about the moment I loaded up the bike to head home.

I did take some pix and video footage that I hope to put together over the coming days....