Bike Helena

About five years ago, Helena Montana was name one of the International Mountain Biking Association’s official Ride Centers. Since then, the mountain biking in Helena has only gotten better. Only 39 cities currently hold Ride Center status, which requires not just extensive, high quality trails for all levels, but also that the trails are “embraced by the surrounding community,” and in both regards, Helena is outstanding.

Visiting bikers always rave about the strong biking community in Helena. The city has five active bike clubs, catering to all different skill levels and interests, as many bike shops, and perhaps most amazingly, a free trail shuttle that carts bikers from downtown to the trailheads every Wednesday-Sunday during the summer. Sponsored by dozens of Helena businesses, the Helena Trail Rider perfectly shows just how much the local community has embraced the biking identity.

Events to look out for are the Helenduro, an annual enduro event that just celebrated its ten year anniversary, and the Shuttle Fests. In the spring, Bike Helena celebrates the start of the Trail Rider Shuttle season with the Spring Shuttle Fest, a weekend wit shuttles nearly from dawn to dusk, and the Ales for Trails party on Friday. But the Spring Shuttle Fest is just the warm-up for the main event: the annual Summer Shuttle Fest, which happens in conjunction with the Montana Brewers Association annual Summer Rendezvous, a gargantuan celebration of Montana craft beer, featuring micro-breweries from across the state and beyond.

For all things biking in Helena, visit the Bike Helena website.