MONTANA

How big is Big Sky Country? There are more than 100 named mountain ranges in Montana yet more than 60 percent of the state is prairie grasslands. There are more than 31 million protected federal acres here and yet there is enough land for Montana to still administer 53 state parks. Lording over it all is Glacier National Park, the “Crown of the Continent.” Unfortunately the 700 miles of fabled trails are out of bounds for your dog. Dogs can stay busy just outside the gates, however - the meadows of Hall Creek in Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest, and Stanton Lake and Mt. Aeneas in Flathead National Forest just begin the list. The story is the same at Yellowstone where three of the five entrances to America’s first national park are in Montana. The surrounding Gallatin and Custer national forests are dog-friendly; Lava Lake in the Spanish Peaks is a highlight. Montana’s largest state park is all the way at the other end of the state - Makoshika State Park takes its name from the Lakota word for “bad land.” These badlands are known for yielding some of the richest bounties of dinosaur fossils in the country; ten different species have been unearthed in the park, including nearly complete skeletons and a Triceratops skull. Your dog is welcome to have a crack at those bones as well.

The Best Day Hike You Can Take With Your Dog In Montana

Hyalite Creek Trail
Custer Gallatin National Forest • Bozeman

John Bozeman opened the first wagon trail through a break in the mountains that American Indians called “Valley of the Flowers.” Revered as a sacred hunting ground, the Sioux killed Bozeman and no one dared try his trail again for nine years. These days nothing can keep canine hikers off the trail to this outdoor paradise that serves as the northern gateway city to Yellowstone National Park.

South of town Custer Gallatin National Forest bursts with 2,000 miles of trails and the canine hike along Hyalite Creek through a U-shaped glaciated canyon encapsulates the beauty of them all. There are three primo destinations in Hyalite Canyon, depending on your trail dog’s hunger for adventure.

Grotto Falls is the most popular of the many side spurs that lead to waterfalls spilling into the canyon. Inclines are easy and the coniferous forest thick as the trail makes several crossings of Hyalite Creek. In a little over two miles the wide and frothy waters plunge into an inviting doggie swimming hole.

An even better swim for Seaman awaits another three miles up the trail at Hyalite Lake, a glacial tarn framed by stunning craggy gray pinnacles. One of those cliffs is Hyalite Peak and it is two miles more to the 10,298-foot summit. The deep green forests are giving way to wildflower meadows and rocky paths by this time as Seaman gains 1,400 feet in elevation past the lake - about what he covered from the trailhead to Hyalite Lake.

HIKING TIME: 2-8 hours

(from the book 300 Day Hikes To Take With Your Dog Before He Tires You Out: Trails where you won’t be able to wipe the wag off your dog’s tail)