Blue Mountain (Montana)

Blue Mountain is the western landmark of the city of Missoula and is a popular recreational destination for folfing (disc golf) hiking, off-road motorcycling, horse riding, shooting and hunting. The mountain is generally covered with pine trees, with sufficient numbers of Blue Spruce to give the mountain a blue appearance in good sunlight.

The University of Montana Department of Physics and Astronomy maintains an [http://www.physics.umt.edu/BlueMountain/ observatory] at the peak.

Notable features on Blue Mountain are a system of [http://www.missoulian.com/specials/hikebike/BMA-nature.html nature trails] and old logging roads that cut across large portions of the mountain, an abandoned apple orchard, and the remains of some old, small, gravel pits on the back side that are part of the [http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordId=6988&SiteId=1 Blue Mountain Recreation Area]

Mule deer, coyotes, black bear, grouse, wild turkeys and other wild animals can be found without much effort across the entire mountain. The black bears are typically found foraging for apples in the abandoned orchard in the fall getting fat for the winter.