Montana Wilderness Hiking Trips

	Let Montana High Country Adventures, Inc. Introduce you to some of the most exciting and beautiful hikes in the United States! Imagine yourself confined by the beauty of nature on a warm sunny day, bright blue skies dotted with cotton like clouds gracefully floating overhead while listening to the powerful silence that surrounds you. As you walk along the trail you’ll notice a tranquil feeling settling in coupled with the unknown wild that lays ahead of you further down the trail! With it’s attraction of the wild outdoors and sensual beauty of the landscape that surrounds you, hiking in Montana is as good as it gets! Experience exhilarating alpine meadow hikes and glacier lakes with post card views and indulge yourself in the beauty of this wildly popular family vacation destination amidst the meadows full of brightly colored wild flowers, cascading creeks and waterfalls, sweeping overlooks, limestone outcropping’s, gorgeous vistas, and abundant wildlife that inhabit this rich ecosystem. A wide range of scenery and land mass accommodates all levels of hikes, from relaxing creek side strolls to all day, high elevation alpine hikes!
The Crazy Mountains are located just East of our lodge roughly 9 miles away and part of the Gallatin National Forest. A quick and easy half mile hike from the lodge can take you atop a wide open plateau and into a virtual post card of breathtaking views that include the Crazy Mountain Range to the East, Bridger Mountain Range to the West, and in the far distance to the South, the Absaroka-Beartooth range. The closest range, the Majestic Crazy Mountains is a maze of almost vertical peaks, saw-tooth ridges, talus fields stemming from broken cliffs, and lush alpine cliques with snow-fed lakes. They include 23 volcanic glacier carved peaks above 10,000 feet, 15 of them unnamed. The range of elevation is from 5,590 to 11,214 feet, the tallest being Crazy peak. A breathtaking array of snow-covered peaks, alpine meadows, glaciers, alpine lakes, and tumbling streams makes the Crazy Mountain range one of the most spectacular ranges in the United States of America. This magnificent range appears to rise abruptly out of the wind swept plains and is visible for hundreds of miles across the central Montana prairie. As you look at the peaks from the valleys or atop a ridge, you will see one of the largest exposed areas of igneous rock in the world!
	Enjoy over 1.8 Million acres of the Gallatin National Forest! With its snow-covered mountain peaks and internationally known “blue ribbon” trout streams, the Gallatin National Forest is a popular recreation area in Montana’s Northern Rockies. Established in 1899, the Gallatin is part of the Greater Yellowstone Area, the largest intact ecosystem in the continental United States. This 1.8-million acre Forest spans six mountain ranges and includes two Congressionally-designated Wilderness areas, the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wildernesses. The Gallatin National Forest provides habitat for a full complement of native fauna, including the black and grizzly bear, gray wolf, mountain lions, bald eagle, moose, elk, big horn sheep, mountain goats, deer, and the Canada lynx.

Come and explore this marvelous treasure and discover, for yourself, all that it has to offer.

Below are some of the over 100 hikes you can explore while staying with us!: Note: there are trails for everyone in every physical condition from low elevation to higher elevations, from one mile to 16 mile hikes! Choose the trails that best suit your preference and enjoy some of the finest hiking in North America!

Hyalite Creek Trail to Hyalite Lake
11 miles round trip, approximately 6-7 hours, elevation gain 1,900 feet. The Hyalite Creek trail leads you through the serene majestic forest, paralleling the bubbling creek to it’s headwaters. You will pass several cascading waterfalls plunging off sheer cliffs while one being named Arch Falls, a falls with a natural rock arch, don’t forget your camera for this hike! Still to come is a 20 foot unnamed waterfall in a rock bowl with a small pool, and then Champagne Falls, an 80 foot waterfall in a narrow, fern-lines grotto. 3 successive waterfalls follow next as you cross a wooden footbridge over Hyalite Creek below the base of Apex falls. Rock hop over another small creek and loop back and re-cross the creek at a stunning cascade. Climb out of the creek and traverse the cliff overlooking the entire U-shaped canyon! A fork in the trail gives you the option to continue to Hyalite Peak (10,298') 2 miles ahead, or bear left and descend to the shoreline in a gorgeous glacier bowl that holds the stunning and pristine waters of Hyalite Lake!...Absolutely a literal post card view that will take your breath away!, and well worth the hike!...return on the same trail.

Emerald Lake Trail
10 miles round trip, approximately 5-6 hours, elevation gain 2,000 feet. Emerald Lake trail leads you 5 miles up the creek head of the canyon, where Emerald Lake and Heather lake sit in a mountainous alpine meadow. The towering rock walls of Mount Chisholm (10,333;) and Overlook Mountain (10,265') drop sharply to the shoreline, forming a beautifully dramatic cirque around the lakes!

This hike will take you through the forest and parallel the creek passing Horsetail Fall and bring you to a small meadow. Ascend the hill and zigzag up switchbacks gaining 400 feet in a half mile. These switchbacks offer some great views back across the canyon and complemented by a beautiful 60 foot waterfall during the climb! Once above the canyon head through a high alpine open meadow with stands of conifers then traverse more switchbacks that lead to an array of brightly colored wildflower’s in a second meadow to an overlook of Emerald lake. A split in the trail (left) allows you to drop down and circle the majestic alpine glacier lake and the beauty that surrounds it! Take the right fork (main trail) and continue another half mile to Heather Lake which sets in a cirque of 10,000 foot peaks and a spectacular place to rest and take photographs or have lunch! Return at your own pace back the same trail. 

Fairy Lake Trail
1.2 mile loop, 40 minutes, elevation gain 100 feet. Fairy Lake is a beautiful 20 acre, picture perfect, tree-lined lake sitting in a forested bowl at the base of a stunning 9,665' mountain peak! The trail loops around the shoreline of this high mountain lake and is a perfect place to have a picnic, fish for cutthroat trout, and spend the day. Several trails leading to more adventure filled hikes can be taken right from Fairy lake to extend or explore deeper up into the high country! Take a 4 mile round trip hike from Fairy Lake trail, climb 2,000 feet up the mountain passing through a glacial cirque to Bridger divide between Sacagawea Peak (9,665') and Hardscrabble peak (9,575'). From the divide traverse the rocky summit for amazingly fantastic views of mountain ranges in every direction! To the South are the Gallatin and Madison Ranges, the Big Belts lie to the North, the Elkhorns and Tobacco Roots lie to the West, and Crazy Mountains to the East. From here you can enjoy your good fortune high atop this Montana wild outdoor paradise, explore more trails, or drop back down to Fairy Lake and continue to enjoy your family vacation!

Montana High Country Adventures, Inc. will provide during your vacation the planning, organization, personal service, and transportation to private land hikes or directions from our facility to National Forest trail heads for your wilderness hiking adventures in Montana while staying with us!...we will provide the maps and our knowledge of the area to get you started and plan your full or half day Southwestern Montana hiking trips! Any other activity or activities of interest can be added to your Montana vacation package during your stay, price for each is extra.

Season Dates - March through August

Our Lodging Rates Include: All ranch home amenities and lodging listed on our accommodations page, meals, airport shuttle to and from Bozeman, (BZN) airport and transportation, planning, organization, and personal service during your stay to enjoy all your activities while you experience a Montana High Country Adventure with us!

Adult: $295 Per Day
Child (17 and under): $75 Per Day
Family Rates: $375 Per Day

Pricing for adding additional activities to your hiking trips is extra, approximate and subject to minor changes due to our business associates, outfitters, and guides here in Montana we work with adjusting their rates. Please call and have a list ready of all your activities you want to enjoy during your stay with us so we can provide accurate and up to date rates along with planning and organization of your Montana outdoor high country vacation!

For Reservations and availability call Keith 717-512-3582
E-mail: info@montanahighcountryadventures.com