Hyalite Canyon: Palisade Falls & Hyalite Peak

Hyalite Canyon is Bozeman's backyard wilderness — a Gallatin National Forest drainage 12 miles south of downtown that rises from 6,500 feet at the reservoir to 10,299 feet at Hyalite Peak, covering more vertical in less horizontal distance than almost any trail system accessible from a Montana city. The canyon holds a series of twelve named waterfalls, including Palisade Falls — a 90-foot free-falling plunge over columnar basalt accessible on a paved ADA trail — and Hyalite Falls, the headwater cascade at the base of the peak circuit. The Hyalite Peak trail is a 9-mile round trip gaining 3,200 feet to a summit with panoramic views of the Gallatin Range, the Madison Range, and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness to the east. The combination of the accessible lower-canyon waterfall trail and the demanding peak circuit gives the canyon unusual range for a single day.