Frenchtown Pond State Park
A family friendly park with a pond close to town
Frenchtown Pond State Park is a family friendly park just off the interstate west of Missoula, featuring a pond, playground, and group picnic shelters.
Features: A small beach, swimming area, fishing dock, and a playground. Two group use shelters with picnic tables and barbecues. A nature trail with several benches.
Accessibility info and site description: There are two parking lots at Frenchtown Pond. On the parking area to the left, there is a van-accessible parking space in front of an entrance sign. A sidewalk leads to a reservable covered picnic shelter with 6 picnic tables and a large barbecue. There are two more picnic tables with small grills in the well-maintained lawn, as well as a large accessible restroom building. On the far left side of the parking area is an entrance to the nature trail. This gravel trail appears to be mostly flat, goes around the pond next to the interstate, and wraps around to the other side of the park. The trail is 1.3 miles total, and has several backless benches.
In the parking lot to the right is a playground. There's a van-accessible parking space and benches around the play area. There is a roughly 6 inch tall barrier surrounding the playground, however, there is a small ramp on one side (see photos). At the center of this parking lot is another van-accessible spot, entrance sign, and accessible bathroom building. Follow the sidewalk 200 feet down toward the dock. There are several areas where the sidewalk is uneven, with 3-5 inch gaps between the height of the concrete. There is a shower on the sidewalk with a sign about swimmer's itch, and two picnic tables on concrete to the right. Heading down toward the dock, there is a small beach area. There is a step down from the grass onto the beach nearest to the dock, and a more gradual transition from the grass to the beach farther from the dock. The last area of interest is on the far right side of the parking lot, where there is another accessible parking space and reservable covered picnic shelter with about 15 picnic tables and a large barbecue. There is access to the nature trail from this side as well.
My experience: Frenchtown Pond is a great community space where people have room to spread out throughout the different areas. The pond is more beautiful than I expected, and reminded me of the parks I grew up visiting in the suburbs of Chicago. This park is right next to the interstate, so it can get quite loud, especially when there are also children enjoying the playground. I did not walk around the nature trail, so I am not sure how well the path is maintained. I could see three or four backless benches along the trail, and the ones that are visible from Google maps appear to be .3 miles apart. At the time of my visit, several people were using this trail to get to different fishing spots. According to the state parks website, people also come here for canoeing, kayaking, and even snorkeling. If you do choose to swim here, be mindful of swimmer's itch and remember to quickly rinse off afterward. Lastly, don’t forget to leave your fur friends at home, as there are no pets allowed here at any time!
Overall, Frenchtown Pond is a nice suburban park close to town that the whole family can enjoy. If you don't mind the noise from the interstate, there are plenty of recreational opportunities here: go for a swim, sit on the beach, fish from the dock, lay on a blanket in the manicured grass, stroll the nature trail, or host a big family BBQ!
For more information, visit: https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/frenchtown-pond/
