Land Stewardship and Recreation

Marshall Mountain: Missoula County, in collaboration with the City of Missoula and community partners, owns Marshall Mountain Park, securing public access and allowing recreators to continue to use the 480-acre site into the future Learn more.

Clinton Community Park: In 2024, a new skatepark opened at the Clinton Community Park, part of a larger project to make the park a more useful community gathering space again. Additional aspects of this project include exploring new uses for the community center and developing additional amenities, such as a parking lot, picnic pavilion, garbage service and fencing. Learn more.

Open Lands Program: Missoula County has an Open Lands program that works with communities, private landowners, local organizations and agencies to conserve the County’s diverse mix of forests, grasslands, agricultural lands and water resources. Learn more.

Parks and Trails Matching Grants: Each year, Missoula County Parks, Trails and Open Lands provides matching grant funds to communities interested in creating and enhancing public recreation sites and facilities located in Missoula County, but outside Missoula city limits. These grants are generally open in late summer and close in the fall. Learn more.

Gerald W. Marks Exploration Center and Rocky Mountain Gardens: In December 2023, Missoula County opened the new Gerald W. Marks Exploration Center and Rocky Mountain Gardens, located at 1075 South Ave. W. This building hosts the Department of Ecology and Extension, Missoula Conservation District and the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium. Funded through public-private partnerships, this facility is the first new structure on the campus as part of the Fairgrounds revitalization plan. The space is now a premier destination for scientific and community-centered education and a place to find connection with nature and our rural heritage in the Rocky Mountain West. Learn more.