4,888 ft
Distance
283 ft
Climb
-39 ft
Descent
00:12:51
Avg time

Mt Ascension Loop Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Snowshoe
    • Nordic Ski
  • Riding Area
    South Hills
    Helena, Montana
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Snow Grooming
    Backcountry
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC, Fat, CX, Gravel
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • TTFs on Trail
    Rock Face
  • Ride in Rain
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #74308 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #11630 in Trail Running
    • #6033 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    95 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 95 in Trail Running
    • 100 in Hiking
    • 5 in Snowshoeing
    • 5 in Skiing
  • Year Opened
    2010
  • Land Owner
    City of Helena

The Mount Ascension Loop Trail runs along a densely wooded slope on the north side of Mount Ascension. The trees are tighter here than on any other trail in the South Hills, so watch your bars. After the trail crosses the Mount Ascension Ridge and into a south-facing slope, it opens up considerably and rolls along a more open hillside in lazy switchbacks that climb to the saddle.

The Mount Ascension Loop trail offers an alternative way to the top of Mount Ascension and the Entertainment Trail. it is longer but milder than climbing 2006. It runs from the fourth switchback on the 2006 trail, and rejoins it at the saddle behind Mount Ascension. The Loop Trail also intersects the Eddy McClure Trail just below the saddle.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Mt Ascension Loop multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    244 ft
  • Altitude min
    4,953 ft
  • Altitude max
    5,213 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,969 ft
  • Altitude end
    5,213 ft
  • Grade
    5%
  • Grade max
    -8.1%
  • Grade min
    21.9%
  • Distance climb
    3,527 ft
  • Distance down
    922 ft
  • Distance flat
    397 ft
  • Avg time
    00:12:51
  • Avg reverse time
    00:10:43
  • view trail stats
Status:
on May 4, 2023
Ideal
Avg: 3.35 (3 votes)
Your vote: 0

view (1,434)
close
  • Basemap 
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
Trailforks scans users ridelogs to determine the most popular direction each trail is ridden. A good flowing trail network will have most trails flowing in a single direction according to their intension.
The colour categories are based on what percentage of riders are riding a trail in its intended direction.
  • > 96%
  • > 90%
  • > 80%
  • > 70%
  • > 50%
  • < 50%
  • bi-directional trail
  • no data
Trail Last Ridden
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine the last time a trail was ridden.
  • < 2 days
  • < 1 week
  • < 2 weeks
  • < 1 month
  • < 6 months
  • > 6 months
Trail Ridden Direction
The intended direction a trail should be ridden.
  • Downhill Only
  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
  • Uphill Primary
  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
Contribute Details
Colors indicate trail is missing specified detail.
  • Description
  • Photos
  • Description & Photos
  • Videos
Trail Popularity ?
Trailforks scans ridelogs to determine which trails are ridden the most in the last 9 months. Trails are compared with nearby trails in the same city region with a possible 25 colour shades. Think of this as a heatmap, more rides = more kinetic energy = warmer colors.
  • most popular
  • popular
  • less popular
  • not popular
ATV/ORV/OHV Filter
Max Vehicle Width
inches

Radar Time
x Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public ridelogs from the past 6 months.
  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
Trailforks users anonymized public skilogs from the past 12 months.
  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
Winter Trails
Warning A routing network for winter maps does not exist. Selecting trails using the winter trails layer has been disabled.
x Missing Trails
Most Popular
Least Popular
Trails are colored based on popularity. The more popular a trail is, the more red. Less popular trails trend towards green.
Jump Magnitude Heatmap
Heatmap of where riders jump on trails. Zoom in to see individual jumps, click circles to view jump details.
Trails Deemphasized
Trails are shown in grey.
disable
Only show trails with NO bikes.
enable

Save the current map location and zoom level as your default home location whenever this page is loaded.

Save
      Directions to mt-ascension-loop trailhead (46.569470, -112.032030)
      update trails status or condition

      Mt Ascension Loop Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      May 4, 2023 @ 11:20am
      May 4, 2023
      		 reporter Nearly everything in the South Hills is good to go now.
      Apr 26, 2023 @ 7:11am
      Apr 26, 2023
      		 reporter Getting closer. Individual conditions will vary by exposure, slope, and soil. Be mindful.
      Apr 11, 2023 @ 7:41am
      Apr 11, 2023
      		 reporter It's a sloppy mess out there. Lots of snow and mud.
      Mar 10, 2023 @ 7:22am
      Mar 10, 2023
      		 reporter Snowing today- it's not ready yet, 6 plates.
      Nov 7, 2022 @ 6:52am
      Nov 7, 2022
      		 reporter Significant snowfall morning of Nov 7
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 3 rides
      • 10 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 185 rides
      • 9 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,155 rides
      • Last: Sep 20, 2023

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      105 |
      Apr 20, 2020 @ 12:43pm
      Apr 20, 2020
      59 |
      Oct 4, 2018 @ 7:13am
      Oct 4, 2018
      27 |
      Sep 10, 2018 @ 2:03pm
      Sep 10, 2018
      328 |
      Oct 26, 2014 @ 2:49pm
      Oct 26, 2014

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Eddye McClure Loop7 miles
      Mount Ascension Tour - from Old Shooting Range8 miles
      Upper Mount Ascension3 miles
      Mount Ascension Tour9 miles

      Reviews / Comments

      No reviews yet, be the first to write a review or ask a question.
      Use trail reports to comment on trail conditions.


      We hope you've been enjoying Trailforks!

      Create a FREE account to view trail comments and much more.

      Create a Free Account

      Videos

      no videos have been added for Mt Ascension Loop yet, add a video.

      Nearby Trails

      South Hills

      • By drewswayne & contributors
      • #5183 - 4,224 views
      • subscribe
      • flag
      • login to download gpx or kml files.