I've been visiting my friend, Kathy, in Bozeman, Montana for a few days. She kept my car while I flew to New Mexico. Last Friday we did a short but beautiful hike along Hyalite Creek. The creek and the canyon are named for a large opal found in the area.
The mostly shady trail starts above the reservoir that supplies Bozeman with water. An accessible trail goes to the Grotto Falls.
The trail goes up another three and a half miles to a little lake and then continues on further to a summit. We turned around here and went back.
This is a very popular local hike and we saw at least ten groups of people and dogs on the trail. One lady was even pushing a jogging stroller.
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| View of Hyalite Creek from a turnout |
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| Another creek view |
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| View of a nearby summit from trailhead |
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| Columbine leaves - most were still green |
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| Wildflower |
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| View of creek from trail |
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| A few of these bushes grew in sunny spots |
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| Choke cherries were ripe |
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| Kathy and me at Grotto Falls |
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| Water flowing over colorful stones in shallow creek |
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| Arch Falls - we could not get a clear view of the arch any more |
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| Rocky bluff along trail |
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| Butterfly with stained glass wings |
This is a very popular local hike and we saw at least ten groups of people and dogs on the trail. One lady was even pushing a jogging stroller.
