MT 86 begins at the intersection of Rouse Avenue and East Main Street, which carries US 191, in downtown Bozeman.

In the northern part of town, MT 86 crosses the Montana Rail Link while simultaneously passing beneath Interstate 90.

The highway turns to the east and leaves the city; it skirts the southern edge of the Bridger Range.

It passes beneath the "College M", a 250-by-100-foot (76 m × 30 m) limestone majuscule M built into the side of Old Baldy within sight of Bozeman and Montana State University.

The forest surrounding the highway yields to grassland and the terrain levels somewhat as the road turns to the north-northeast near Sedan.