Must See the Natural Bridge Falls near Big Timber, Montana

Nature is my church, and I keep the Sabbath holy.

After a long week with a July 4th holiday, I treated myself to a road trip and hike to the Natural Bridge Falls on the Boulder River south of Big Timber.

While the actual rushing water and gorge and forest were all natural, the trailheads and lookouts have been developed to a Tolkien Elvish pristine.  You wonder if Gandalf the wizard or a Hobbit would appear.  The paved paths were edged with stacked rocks.  A wooden bridge spanned the Boulder to the other side where the dirt path began.

The river itself crashed underneath then falls into the rock.  A short way’s farther shows the water cascading into a level basin for less than a hundred yards before the continued falling down the gorge.

The beginning dirt trail is quite gentle and easily traversed by kids.  The green foliage can make the track really narrow.  The morning air in the sunshine has a warm pine and earth smell, while the shade is appreciably cooler.

There is a Canyon Bottom Access trail to get where the river pours out of the rock, but that is the real challenge.  Have a walking stick handy.  This switchback trail is much steeper and rockier, and if a little muddy is much trickier.  A real strain on the knees.  The signs say Do Not Cut Across Switchbacks and they mean it; the slope down is steeper than 45 degrees with rocks at the long bottom.  A slip and fall will definitely hurt you.

Take your time and pick your way down carefully, and you can get to about 25 yards from the falls safely.  The roar of water fills the air.

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If you can’t risk the Canyon Access trail, no loss; the overhang lookouts provide all the majesty on gentle paths and stone stairs on top of the gorge ridge.

How to Get to Natural Bridge Falls

Exit the interstate at Big Timber, cruise 1st Street to McLeod which is also Highway 289. Turn south and follow it all the way to the pavement’s end.  Do not turn off of the road at all.

289 is a narrow, winding, 2-lane road so slow down and enjoy the drive.  You will pass farms and modern homesteads in a sweeping basin of countryside.  There are a couple bumpy patches of highway with warning signs, so both hands on the wheel.

Watch for the signs that verify you are on the right road.  The Natural Falls trailhead will be to the left just before the pavement end.  If you start driving on gravel, you have gone just a bit too far.

It’s a little over an hour and a half to drive there from Billings, but it is a great expedition for the day.  Enjoy in the little Adventure.