273 Forest Service, 15 BLM and 15 National Park Service. 231 take reservations
The coldest reading on record in the contiguous United States 7
-70°F
Rogers Pass, 40 miles northwest of Helena, January 20, 1954
The vehicle length limit on Going-to-the-Sun Road 25
21 ft
Between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, with a width limit of 8 feet including mirrors
Clubs, permits and keeping routes open
Montana’s off-highway vehicle programme runs on permit money, and a club is how most drivers learn which trails the resident pass and the nonresident permit apply to, and which BLM areas are on the list. The state requires the pass on Forest Service trails designated for 50-inch OHVs.
A club is also how you learn where BLM land gives way to state trust land or private ground, which matters in the Breaks, and where a road is open on the map but closed on the ground.
A club turns a vehicle into a calendar. Day runs, weekend trips, training days, garage nights, and a list of people who will come and get you.
Most clubs offer
01Organized runs and trips at different levels
02Training days for new members
03Trail maintenance and clean-ups
04A voice in local land-use planning
05Help, tools and advice
How to find the right one
Go on a run as a guest before you pay dues.
01Decide between a club built around one make and one open to anything.
02Ask about the pace and style: family camping, technical trails, long-distance travel.
03Ask what the dues pay for.
04Watch how they treat the newest driver on a run.
Why clubs matter
Routes stay open because someone shows up. Clubs that adopt trails, clear them after winter and take part in land-use planning are a large part of why there is still somewhere to drive.
Questions people ask
Do I need a certain vehicle?
Some clubs are built around one make. Many are open to anything with four-wheel drive and a willingness to learn.
How do I list my club?
Use the List your business form and choose Clubs. Tell us where you meet and how people can join a run.
How high is Montana?
From Libby at 2,097 feet to Granite Peak at 12,799.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
2,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
Red LodgeWhere the Beartooth Highway starts its climb on US 212, heading for Beartooth Pass and Cooke City.5,568 ft
ButteOn I-90 with the BLM’s Western Montana District office. The Pipestone off-highway vehicle area is about 15 miles east at exit 241.5,535 ft
PhilipsburgIn Granite County, on the far side of Skalkaho Pass from the Bitterroot Valley. Montana 38 over the pass closes for the winter.5,243 ft
DillonHome of the BLM field office that manages more than 900,000 acres in Beaverhead and Madison counties, and the Big Sheep Creek byway to the south.5,097 ft
EnnisOn Montana 287. The Forest Service routes Gravelly Range traffic from here by the Varney road and the Call road, and keeps the area’s maps at its office in town.4,946 ft
BozemanOn I-90. The Custer Gallatin’s Bozeman Ranger District is one of the five west-side districts under the forest’s food storage order.4,811 ft
HelenaState capital, and half the name of the 2.8-million-acre Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Rogers Pass, 40 miles northwest, holds the national cold record.4,048 ft
LewistownBLM field office for the Upper Missouri River Breaks and seat of the North Central Montana District. One of the two offices the BLM names for byway conditions.3,952 ft
DarbyThe Montana end of the Magruder Road Corridor. The Forest Service counts eight to ten hours from Red River, Idaho, to Darby without rest stops.3,884 ft
HamiltonIn the Bitterroot Valley on US 93, near the west end of Montana 38 and in the middle of the 1.6-million-acre Bitterroot National Forest.3,570 ft
WinifredOne end of the Missouri Breaks byway, which the BLM runs between here and the James Kipp Recreation Area on US 191.3,228 ft
MissoulaOn I-90 beside the 2.3-million-acre Lolo National Forest. The BLM field office here manages the Garnet Back Country Byway, which leaves Montana 200 about 30 miles east.3,208 ft
BillingsOn I-90 in south-central Montana. The BLM’s Montana/Dakotas State Office is here.3,122 ft
KalispellIn the Flathead Valley below the 2.4-million-acre Flathead National Forest, west of Glacier National Park.2,955 ft
Fort BentonWhere the Breaks begin on US 87. The Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center here holds maps and road conditions for the monument.2,635 ft
LibbyOn the Kootenai River. The 67-mile Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway runs north from here to Eureka on Highway 37.2,097 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Granite PeakThe highest point in Montana, in Park County. No road to the top12,799 ft
Beartooth PassBeartooth Highway (US 212): Red Lodge to Cooke City, by way of the northwest corner of Wyoming10,947 ft
Mount ClevelandThe highest peak in Glacier National Park, by the park’s own figure10,448 ft
Crystal ParkPioneer Mountains Scenic Byway: Montana Highway 484 at Wise River south to County Highway 2787,800 ft
Skalkaho PassSkalkaho Highway (Montana 38): Ravalli and Granite counties, across Skalkaho Pass7,261 ft
Logan PassGoing-to-the-Sun Road: The west entrance of Glacier National Park to the east entrance, over Logan Pass6,646 ft
Nez Perce PassMagruder Road Corridor: Darby, Montana, to Red River, Idaho, between the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church wildernesses6,598 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
