Hiking Outside Bozeman on the Hyalite Creek Trail

We hiked a total of 7.5 miles and visited 4 waterfalls on our hiking adventure. We saw Grotto Falls, Arch Falls, “Mystery Falls” and Champagne Falls. We would rate this hike as moderately challenging because of the elevation gain (the hike in is almost all uphill) and the length of the hike.

From the parking lot it is 1.2 miles to the first set of falls which is Grotto Falls. This portion of the hike gains 260 feet in elevation. This portion of the trail is wide and unobstructed and other than the elevation, it is fairly easy to hike.

After visiting the falls we had to backtrack a short distance to continue on the trail. The trail turns into a steep switchback up and onto a rocky path. Although you can hike in tennis shoes I would recommend hiking boots to protect your ankles.

Having grown up and lived near the Blue Ridge Mountains most of our lives hiking to waterfalls is something we enjoy. We have particularly loved our Montana waterfall hikes because of the trees, mountains, rock formations and vast amount of water in the creeks and rivers. It really just feels to us that everything here is on a much larger scale.

Continuing on it is 1.2 miles from Grotto Falls to Arch Falls. This portion of the hike gains 200 feet in elevation.

We continued up the trail towards Champagne Falls. This section of the trail gains over 600 feet in elevation and is approximately 1.5 miles from Arch Falls. The path is dirt and somewhat rocky.

Between Arch Falls and Champagne Falls is a marked .3 mile trail to the left to go see Silken Skein Falls. Because of time constraints, we chose to skip this short addition to our hike.

Between the turn off for Silken Skein Falls and Champagne Falls is a turn off path to the right, toward the river, leading to another waterfall. I’ve researched and can’t seem to find a name for this amazing waterfall. So for now we will call it “Mystery Falls”. The water pours in and creates a beautiful pool before continuing downstream.

When we got to the turn off for Champagne Falls we weren’t 100% sure we were in the right place because the side trail is very thin and a little overgrown. Once you start walking on the side trail it opens up a bit. In mid July we passed a little bit of snow on the side trail at 7850 elevation. Of all four waterfalls that we saw on our hike, Champagne Falls is easily the most impressive.

The hike back is rewarding since it is almost all downhill. At the turn to go back to Gratto Falls we decided to go straight on the Hyalite Creek Trail which cuts off a corner and a couple tenths of a mile. With our stops to rest, eat a snack and enjoy all four waterfalls, our entire hike took about 4:15 hours.