Missoula is rife with bike culture. Whether your preference is mountain biking, road biking, bicycling touring, bicycling commuting or anything in between – there’s a trail, path, bike lane and community for you.
With plenty of trails, shops and events, you’ll never be bored off or on the saddle. And even if you don’t own a bicycle right now, there are plenty of rental options and communities to help you get started. Scroll on to discover our gold-rated biking community at UM and in our larger Missoula community.
Missoula has some popular bike shops and rentals, from Free Cycles to Big Sky Bikes to Missoula Bike Source. You can Frankenstein your own bike at Free Cycles and learn all you need to know to build a bike, or you can buy a new bike at one of the many retail shops in town. But the true choice to make is to rent or not rent (that is the question).
ASUM Transportation through the University of Montana operates Griz Gears Bike Rentals – a student-led bike service for anyone who comes into the garage. Griz Gears has a rental fleet of commuter bikes, perfect for students, staff, or anyone in between to ride around town comfortably. And with free repairs that come with these affordable rentals, it’s hard to resist a rental bike.
Read More: Find Your Ride with Griz Gear Bikes
There are also lots of other rental places around town with more specific bike styles: Missoula Bicycle Works, Spotted Dog Cycles and The Bicycle Hangar, to name a few.
If you’re looking to own your own wheels, buying would be the option for you. Though more expensive, you’ll be able to feed your newfound love of biking anytime you’d like. Owning your own bike lets you customize it however you’d like!
Missoula has many bike shops where you can buy new bikes. Free Cycles offers a unique option where you can spend time building your own bike with their guidance and your volunteer hours. Free Cycles is also very active in the Missoula community, often holding concerts and other events.
Most bike shops in town will help with bike maintenance. You can take them in, and they’ll work on it for you. If your bike is from REI, they have free tube and flat tire repairs for members as well.
If you’d like to know more about how to fix your bike yourself, Griz Gears will walk you through what you need to do to fix your bike and how to do it. Free Cycles also has a junkyard where you can search for parts and take them from the bike scrapyard for free.
On campus and at the university villages, bike self-service stations have a pump and assorted tools. If you know what you’re doing and just need to tweak something, you can walk up to a station and fix it yourself.
Deciding where to bike in Missoula is like choosing an ice cream flavor at Big Dipper: There are so many (maybe too many) options. As far as mountain biking goes, you couldn’t pick a better city for it. Surrounded by mountains, Missoula has routes on the Rattlesnake, Pattee Canyon, Blue Mountain, and many more.
Road biking is another facet of Missoula biking. The Missoula/Clark Fork River Loop is a scenic urban quest through Missoula. There’s also the Bitterroot bike trail that can take you from Missoula all the way to Hamilton if you’re looking for a longer ride. The East Missoula Loop is also a great option with stellar views of Missoula, from river to mountains.
Many local clubs might be just right for you and what you’re looking for! From clubs focused on biking without racing as the goal to clubs that support trans, non-binary, gender-expansive, and women cyclists, Missoula has many options open to all. The Missoula Cycling Hub has a list of local and regional cycling resources for you to explore!
The University of Montana Grizzlies Cycling Team is a club sport open to anyone with a passion for riding, from someone continuing a competitive career in cycling to students just starting to get into the sport. This club creates opportunities to ride, compete, and form connections with the UM and Missoula cycling community.
Missoula Adaptive Recreation Sports is a nonprofit organization that provides recreational opportunities to individuals with disabilities, with help from local sponsors like Missoula Parks and Rec. They host many group rides that encourage adaptive cycling. The group rides are between June and September with their MARS-a-thon fundraising ride in September at Marshall Mountain Park.
The Hiawatha bike trail is a paved-over railroad that goes from Idaho to Montana through the Bitterroot mountains. It’s 15 miles long, has 10 tunnels along the route, and has 7 trestles for your enjoyment. The best part? It’s all downhill, and there’s a shuttle from the bottom to the top.
Near Butte, Montana, this trail is for advanced riders who want a challenge of steep ascents and narrow twists. It stretches for about 6 miles over the Continental Divide and Homestake Pass and back again.
Located in Helena and with great views of Helena Valley, this 5-to-11-mile trail is a wonderland for any rider. With a shuttle leaving from the Women’s Mural that operates from Wednesday to Sunday between May and September, it’s open and accessible to all.
From Hungry Horse to West Glacier in Flathead County, this 12.6-mile trail of asphalt allows you to get an intimate view of mountains near West Glacier and Coram and even the chance to see a grizzly or brown bear.