Lake Como Loop Trail is a 7.9 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Darby, Montana that features a waterfall and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Lake Como Trail is located between Hamilton and Darby, MT. This trail wraps around the entire lake with a waterfall at the west (back) end. To hike the trail as a "loop" it is about 8 miles. To do an "out and back" hike to the falls on the north shore trail it is about 6 miles round trip. This is a partially paved path which may have some wheelchair accessibility.
From Darby,MT travel north for 4 miles on Highway 93. Turn west (left) onto Lake Como Rd. Follow for 3 miles. Turn north (right) and follow signs to campground.
January 14, 2021
January 5, 2021Nice long easy loop. Some snow lots of ice. Only saw two hikers in 5 hours.
October 30, 2020I loved this hike! Easy to get to the trail head, easy hike. A little over 8 miles for the full loop. Gorgeous views, waterfall and not too many people on a Friday in late October.
October 23, 2020Did this trail on a rainy Sunday. The rain made the waterfall even bigger and more spectacular. This is a very easy trail that is good for the whole family.
October 6, 2020We hiked this on Sunday, October 4, 2020 from about 10:30 am to 1:30 pm, for a total of about 3 hours in an 8-mile loop. The temperatures were in the high 50s and low 60s and there was no wind or snow. This is a nice easy hike. We parked right at the lake and hiked counter-clockwise. The lake is quite low in October. At a little after 3 miles there is a nice waterfall, pretty low volume but still nice and with good views of the lake. The dirt trail ends at a parking lot on the other side of the lake, so there is about 1/2 mile of walking on pavement and dirt roads. The trail on the near side of the lake has more lake views than the trail on the far side of the lake, so if you want views the whole way you could head back at the waterfalls rather than continuing on to the far side of the lake. We only saw about a dozen people on the trail, although I hear it is far busier in the summer. The road to the trail does not have any vehicle clearance issues and the trail itself is one of the easier ones to access and hike in the snow.
October 2, 2020Nice trail. Worth the walk to see the waterfall.
September 27, 2020easy trail great for beginner hikes
August 27, 2020This trail is perfect. It’s so peaceful and well taken care of. I went at 5pm and encounter 3-4 people on the trail
August 18, 2020easy trail. you have to cross the bridge and take a narrow path on the right to get a view of the falls. great lunch spot! cross the bridges on the way back but loom t for another narrow path on tbe left that goes uphll. thjs takes you above the falls to a magic spot,
August 11, 2020Beautiful trail. Hiked the southside of the lake and stopped about 2 miles in to pitstop the dogs at the perfect little sandy beach. There was one decent sized pine across the trail but nothing too big to hop over. Beautiful views of the lake the whole time!
August 8, 2020Did a solo run on this trail at 10 am on a Saturday. The parking lots and trail were still very quiet. Saw only two other parties on the entire loop. Great route for trail running. Took me an hour an a half with some stops for photos. Finished off with the swim in the lake. Lovely half day adventure. Note you will need a Ntl Recreation Trail permit to park in the recreation area. I didn't have one - nor did I have any cash or check - but it worked out.
July 26, 2020Easy paved trail in the beginning with lots of benches. We got an early start on a hot day. The falls were beautiful and we found a perfect picnic space on a large flat rock. Really busy trail!
July 17, 2020Awesome hike. If your not looking to go all the way around I recommend parking just past the beach and hiking to the falls. One way is 3.1 - 6.2 round trip. We stopped and had lunch at the falls. Was great!
July 15, 2020Great trail for running. Beautiful views of the lake the whole loop and fairly flat easy trail. Liked it so much I’m going to do it again!
July 8, 2020East (left) side of the trail. Took longer than the other side.
July 5, 2020Long but is a fun one! The different sides of the lake have very different fauna and so it’s not exactly the same thing the whole way. The rivers/lakes are very full right now so the waterfall half way through was just amazing! I’ve done this many times and I’ve never seen it roaring like that :)
June 28, 2020Beautiful, very little elevation gain. Narrow rocky trail makes it hard to socially distance, but for the majority of the hike the few people we saw were very considerate. Bring a mask for the beginning of the trail, which is much more busy.
June 25, 2020We had a dog on the trail as did several other hikers and a sign near the trail start showed dogs allowed on a leash. I was told dogs were not allowed at the beach area. Anyway we parked at the beach area, but should have driven a bit farther to were the trail started. We hiked to the water fall, which was amazing, and back. Took about 3-3.5 hrs. On another trip to visit I’d like to try all the way around the lake.
June 19, 2020Dogs are not allowed unless it’s a guide dog
May 11, 2020A gorgeous hike. Starts off on blacktop for a little bit in the first mile. Around 3.5 miles you will reach a large waterfall where you will cross a bridge over to the other side. Really neat in May due to the snow melting. Most people turn around here but it's about the same distance if you just finish the loop. You will find another smaller watefall in the next couple of miles. At the end you walk along the dam to get back to your car. Not a lot of shade so bring plenty of water and food. There are also plenty of spots to bring a hammock to attach to some trees and just relax.
May 4, 2020Great day hike, easy trail. We hiked the north shore out and back (picnic/day area side) in April. It was 3.5 miles each way. Took our 3 yo granddaughter and she did great. In the backpack about half and walked the rest. Water falls are amazing due to spring run. Did have to cross several sections of water in the trail but nothing crazy or scary. Later in the summer would be hard as there is not much shade but great in the spring.
August 30, 2019Do the north shore early in the morning so you don't bake after the sun comes up.
August 17, 2019Great hike with the littles. Our 4 year old had no problems getting to the falls, but turned around there with his Mom. Our teens made the whole loop with only a little groan when faced with the lack of shade on the dam crossing. Worth your time. Hardly anyone after the falls.
August 13, 2019Did south side to waterfall and back (7 miles total). Trail head hard to find (no signage). Finally found thru boat trailer parking lot. Go past boat launch and there's parking around the corner (then you don't have to pay!). Once you are almost there you get to a creek (which is beautiful!) and then there's alot of loose rocks. Hard to navigate when you're legs are tired! Saw deer and an eagle landed in a tree not 20ft from us - Spectacular!
July 26, 2019A nice trail around the lake. We only went to the waterfall and back but it was still 7miles. It was a warm day. Be sure to bring a lot of water!
July 26, 2019Hiked to falls. It was warm. Trail was easy
July 23, 2019Easy trail. Beautiful views of the lake. I loved the waterfall.
July 21, 2019
