Located 2 miles from City Center in Big Sky, the Ousel Falls Trail is an easy hike to a beautiful waterfall. Open all year, this very popular hike is recommended for everyone!
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Ousel Falls – Big Sky, Montana
Category: Yellowstone Area Hikes and Attractions
The natural wonders of Yellowstone Park don’t stop at the park’s boundary and we want to help you enjoy the Yellowstone area beyond the park. These articles feature opportunities for hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing and whitewater. For a quieter trip, there are suggestions for driving explorations.
There are great attractions on every side of Yellowstone Park but we are focused on the area to the north. Mostly in Montana, this includes the Bozeman, Livingston and Big Timber areas. It includes the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, and the Lee Metcalf Wilderness as well as hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest.
Brand new in 2022 is the Cutler-Sphinx Trail located north of Gardiner, MT, and west of the Yellowstone River in Yankee Jim Canyon. The roughly 5.5-mile point-to-point trail takes hikers and mountain bikers through sagebrush, grasslands, and juniper forest.
Campfire Lake is a beautiful mountain lake nestled below dramatic mountain ridgelines near the center of the Crazy Mountains. Trailheads on both the east and west sides of the Crazy Mountains offer options for climbing to the lake. The hike is 7 – 13 miles one-way depending on the route you choose.
The Gallatin Petrified Forest Interpretive Trail #286 provides an opportunity to explore a petrified forest area that has not been developed. Hikers delight in viewing the petrified wood right where nature put it.
Bozeman, Montana is a premier location for enjoying the outdoors. On any given day you can hike, bike, climb, float, or otherwise play in world-famous places. With so much to choose from, it’s hard to decide what to do or where to hike. Here are a few suggestions for popular day hikes in the Bozeman area.
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Madison Buffalo Jump State Park
Madison Buffalo Jump State Park is off I 90 about 22 miles west of Bozeman, MT. The park offers hiking, biking, and opportunities to explore an iconic Native American archeological site. The 640-acre park is a perfect place to learn about buffalo jumps and why they were so important to the Indians.
Woodbine Falls Trail #93, Woodbine Campground, and the Stillwater River Trail # 24 are all closed for the remainder of 2022. Historic flooding in mid-June washed out the road and it will not be repaired until 2023.
The Stillwater River trail provides great hiking into the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness. While the trail leads to amazing riches for backpackers, there is a very popular day hike to Sioux Charley Lake. It’s a 3-mile hike on a good trail that climbs gradually for the entire distance. The trail includes a narrow gorge with raging whitewater, great mountain views, and a stream that becomes a wide, flat lake.
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Blue Lake is the most popular hiking destination in the Crazy Mountains for good reason. Sitting at 8,282 ft in a valley between Granite Peak and Crazy Peak, Blue lake is connected to the larger Granite Lake and the smaller Thunder Lake. The hike to Blue Lake is less than 4 miles on good trails with an elevation gain of about 2,200 ft.
Woodbine Falls Trail #93, Woodbine Campground, and the Stillwater River Trail # 24 are all closed for 2023 until further notice. Historic flooding in mid-June 2022 washed out the road and it may not be repaired until 2024. For the current status call the US Forest Service at 406-446-2103
Mallard’s Rest Fishing Access site sits on the Yellowstone River 12 miles south of Livingston, MT in the heart of Paradise Valley. The site features a boat ramp, access to miles of Yellowstone River fishing, and a campground with 13 campsites. Mallard’s Rest is on the banks of the Yellowstone and the Absaroka Mountains to the east are spectacular.