About Ousel Falls
Ousel Falls was a pretty popular yet surprisingly naturesque waterfalling excursion within walking distance from the suburban community of Big Sky.
For that reason, I’d bet the falls was the most popular hike in Big Sky.
The big payoff was a reportedly 100ft tall waterfall (I suspect it was more like 50ft tall), but in higher flows, I could easily envision the falls being wider than it was tall.
Experiencing Ousel Falls
The trail allowed me to experience Ousel Falls in a variety of ways.
Indeed, I saw it from an overlook, I stood right in front of its base (where I saw a few more cascades further downstream), and I also climbed to the waterfall’s brink.
With picnic tables nearby and lots of effort put into the trail maintenance, it was clear to me that this place was set up to make it easy to access for people of all ages.
In addition to the falls, the trail meandered through a forested area with a few intermediate cascades as well as some intriguing cliffs hinting that the geologic forces that gave rise to the canyon.
The waterfall was named after the ouzel bird or water ouzel (also known as the American dipper), which were small birds resident throughout the Western, Northern, and Central Americas from Panama to Alaska.
These birds would hunt for water insects and small fish by doing dives into the water.
Although I managed to do this hike from the spacious parking lot at the Yellow Mule Trailhead, the well-maintained trails actually stretched back as far as the Big Sky community itself.
The trail pretty much meandered along the canyon carved out by the South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River.
The shorter trail that I did was a mere 1.6 miles round trip.
That said, if I wanted to, I could have extended the hike another 4 miles round trip (5.6 miles round trip total) by doing the hike from Big Sky and ditching the car if I happened to be visiting or staying there.
The trail also continued further into the Custer Gallatin National Forest, where more trails and naturesque experiences could be had to escape civilization.
Nevertheless, grizzly bears had been spotted in the canyon despite its proximity to Big Sky so it would be wise to carry bear spray in the event of a close encounter that resulted in a bear attack.
Ousel Falls Trail Description – from Yellow Mule Trailhead to the falls
From the Ousel Falls Park and Yellow Mule Trailhead (see directions below), I followed a pretty obvious path that skirted along the rim of the canyon right behind the restrooms.
The trail from Big Sky continued from my left as I faced the canyon so I went right to continue west in the upstream direction towards the waterfall.
The well-used and well-maintained trail (which seemed suitable for runners, folks on bicycle, horseback riders, in addition to hikers) gently descended lower along the canyon rim.
Eventually, it reached a couple of switchbacks descending to a sturdy footbridge across the South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River at the 0.3-mile point.
The bridge was full of little plaques containing the names of people who apparently donated to the project that gave rise to the trail I was on.
On the other side of the bridge, the trail climbed up past a junction with the Ralph’s Pass Trail as well as the more primitive Yellow Mule Trail before reaching the next plateau.
Along the way, the trail narrowed a little more as it descended to the next pair of footbridges over the river in the next quarter-mile.
Down at the footbridges, there was an intermediate waterfall as well as a close-up look at the cliffs that hinted at the hard layers of rock that must have given rise to the Ousel Falls.
Beyond the footbridges, the trail climbed up to the main waterfall area where there was an overlook right across from the waterfall.
A short stepped spur trail led me down to a few picnic tables as well as the base of the waterfall.
Also nearby, there was a more primitive trail skirting by the brink of the falls.
More trails continued further upstream beyond the Ousel Falls to go deeper into the Custer Gallatin National Forest.
In any case, the waterfall was my turnaround point, and I wound up spending a leisurely 90 minutes away from the car to really soak it all in.
That said, I could easily imagine this up-and-down trail could also take less time if one were in more of a hurry.
Authorities
Ousel Falls resides in Ousel Falls Park near Big Sky in Gallatin County, Montana. It is administered by the Big Sky Community Organization. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Although Ousel Falls was practically within the community of Big Sky, we were based in Bozeman.
So we’ll describe the driving route from there as well as the driving route from West Yellowstone.
From Bozeman, the most straightforward route would be to head west on Main Street, which would become Hwy 191 as the route left the main part of town and approached the Four Corners suburb in about 6 miles.
Alternately, it was also possible to take East Center Valley Rd or the I-90 west to the Route 85 before heading south towards the US191 at Four Corners.
Anyways, at the intersection with Gallatin Rd (where the 85, 84, and 191 met), I headed south to continue on Hwy 191 and followed this surprisingly high-speed surface road for 34 miles.
Eventually, I turned right onto Lone Mountain Trail (Route 64) in the Big Sky Community.
In about 3 miles, I then turned left onto Ousel Falls Road, where I then drove the remaining 1.8 miles to the Ousel Falls Yellow Mule Trailhead Parking Lot on the left.
Overall, this drive took me about about an hour.
Coming from West Yellowstone, I’d drive north on the US191 for about 47 miles to the community of Big Sky.
Then, I’d turn left onto Lone Mountain Trail (Route 64) and follow the driving directions as above to the Ousel Falls Park.
This drive would also take about an hour.
Lastly, for some geographic context, Bozeman was about 44 miles (about an hour drive) north of Big Sky, 89 miles (under 2 hours drive) north of West Yellowstone, 26 miles (30 minutes drive) west of Livingston, 78 miles (under 90 minutes drive) northwest of Gardiner, 98 miles (over 90 minutes drive) southeast of Helena, 203 miles (about 3 hours drive) east of Missoula, and 324 miles (over 5 hours drive) southeast of Whitefish.
Find A Place To Stay
Related Top 10 Lists
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall