Mill Creek Trail is a 11 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Hamilton, Montana that features a waterfall and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is best used from July until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
December 26, 2020
November 21, 2020November 3, 2020Olivia Chinn (see comment below) took Griffin from his home in the valley. He belongs to a wonderful and sweet couple that live at the trailhead. He often roams around by himself, and sometimes joins us on our runs. He should NOT have been taken and removed from his home. We will be contacting the Humane Society tomorrow to ensure that Griffin wasn’t given away to another family due to the actions of Ms. Chinn.
October 30, 2020Trail was snowy and icy in the shade. Could have used traction device. Took a detour after we crossed the bridge and saw the new Cow Creek sign. Up in the sunshine! Amazing views. Great day out there.
October 9, 2020Nice casual hike.
October 2, 2020August 26, 2020FOUND DOG. Male Griffon, brown and black, no chip or tags. Dropped him off at the Bitterroot Humane Association on 8/25 around 12:30pm. Trail was great, loved the creek flowing aside it. Easy access to driving and in great condition!
August 16, 2020one of my favorites! trailhead is easy to get to almost all year around. great views and not too much traffic on the trail
July 20, 2020Pretty views, but the trail was narrow, often overgrown, and the footing was very rocky. We did 3 miles before we decided our ankles had enough and we turned around. Hot, so bring lots of water. Not much elevation gain, but still not a casual hike in my opinion.
July 18, 2020Nice hike, a little overgrown at times and pretty muddy at times. Made it to the falls and turned around.
July 17, 2020I did this hike with a small party of 3. We were very excited to make it to the falls! Once you hit the first mile you will cross a small cute bridge, the hike is pretty flat most of the way, you will reach rocky spots with no shade and open terrain and spot withs lots of shade and dense forest. The trail does get a little muddy and you will have to walk over a log unless you want to get your shoes wet in the small creek. I wore my chacos so it was easy to just pass through the water and felt good! Saw lots of baby lizards and chipmunks on the trail and came across a huge boulder around 3 miles in ! My friends and I decided to climb up and the view at the top was incredible! We made it to the falls and there was lots of rocks to sit near it and eat lunch, very beautiful falls and if you wanted to you could take a nice swim at the bottom, would be freezing though. Will have to backpack to the lake one day, overall great hike :)
May 18, 2020Beautiful hike. Trail is in great shape. A few wet and muddy spots but manageable. Only about 7 miles round trip to the falls. Went a little past but didn't see much different in scenery before the bushes and shrubs started getting tall and encroaching on the trail so I turned around.
May 17, 2020Spotted a mountain lion just off the trail after the bridge.
May 9, 2020March 13, 2020Beautiful hike ~3.25 mi back on 7-Mar-20. Yaktrax very helpful throughout, lots of posthole-ing starting a few miles in.
December 29, 2019Great hike today, Dec 29, 2019. Broke trail towards the end, last 2 miles? Great day for it and a great start on prepping. 26lb pack.
October 20, 2019Went to the falls today, 6 miles and about 3 hours. Beautiful hike. Light snow flurries. Hardly any people. Very easy trail, some rocks, not a ton of elevation.
October 19, 2019Quick in and out walk with the dogs to the bridge. Perfect temp and conditions for hiking. Overcast, a little wet but not raining. I didn’t see a single person on the trail. Very easy.
August 7, 2019Great trail. Relatively easy. Make sure you cross the bridge, the path on the other side is a dead end after 10minutes. It took us 1h10 from the bridge to the falls.
July 7, 2019Our hiking party was three generations of women; all three enjoyed the hike, noting it was a new favorite because of the scenery, water, and while a bit challenging, was not in any way miserable. We selected Mill Creek because it was dog friendly and had a waterfall that we picked for our lunch destination. We started out at 9:30 am and saw very few people for most of the hike until we began heading out around 1:30 pm. We noted the absence of bugs, although we were prepared with spray and would recommend doing so. The trail is passable, but there are a lot of young trees, brush, and berries (including huckleberries!), that made us a bit nervous about running into a bear. We found fresh, berry-filled scat about midway to the waterfall, so felt justified with the bear bells on the dog’s collar and our continual talk and singing. We were able to take lots of stunning photos of the creek, canyon walls, and wildflowers and enjoyed the birdsong. Challenges on the trail included some mud, a few boulders, and a pool of standing water. We had rain on the way out so we didn’t experience the heat that other reviewers mention, but the trail was slick. Make sure to cross the bridge to continue to the falls. And, if you have decent balance and good boots/shoes, walk across the fallen log at the standing water rather than crossing the scree field. Also recommend wearing sturdy boots and bringing lots of water. It’s not a bad idea to bring poles, either. And the dogs? They loved the hike (but when does a dog not love a hike?) and slept all the way home.
June 29, 2019About a mile in you get right up beside the Towering cliffs. They are awe inspiring all the way to the falls and beyond. While you're near the creek you rarely are beside it or even see it through the trees. Not as picturesque as Blodgett but well worth the hike to the falls. It is hot with limited shade.
June 2, 2019Wonderful hike. The rushing water accompanies you throughout the whole hike to the falls. After almost a mile there is a bridge, make sure you go across it to continue up to the falls. From there the falls are a little over 2 miles. There were some soggy spots on the trail but that just added to the adventure. Most will be dried up later in the season
December 10, 2018Beautiful! Creek was mostly frozen and Trail was icy. Worth the trek to see the ice crystals formed on all the vegetation.
July 15, 2018Very nice trail. It’s my own fault that I went too far (turned around about 8 miles in), particularly since the temperature was in the mid-90s. Up until about 3 miles past the falls it was quite nice. After that the trail starts climbing considerably more steeply without any good views. All the berries along the trail were much appreciated!
July 5, 2018Beautiful trail! Started around 8:30 am and hiked about 4 miles in before turning around. Saw very few people until ~1 mile before trailhead. Parts of the trail were overgrown with vegetation and muddy. Like others have said, parts of trail go through previous burn area that is not very shaded. Will definitely come back to hike in further. The dogs loved it!
