South Fork Trail to Pioneer Falls

Hiking with our old dog so only went as far as the junction. Hit the trailhead around 8:15 am on a Friday and didn’t see anyone on the way up, but saw several people on the way back. It was chilly when we started and 71 deg when we returned. Only saw a few bison on Ted’s ranch. Beautiful drive, washboard road. Fairly level trail, well-maintained, occasional access to water, plenty of shade early in the morning.

This was a lovely day hike. From the Spanish Creek Trailhead to the falls was about 3.4 miles. Take a right at the trail marker. The trail is flat from the start to the sign. From the sigh, where you follow the trail to the right, up to the falls is up, up, up. It is a pretty fairly small waterfall. I have to admit that my favorite part was the drive to and from the trailhead! I loved seeing all the bison and their babies.

Excellent hike today. Much of the trail is in full sunlight after 2-3pm, so early hiking would be better. A lot of horse manure.

Fantastic hike, excellent weather and beautiful scenery. Took about 3.5hrs round trip with my 4yr old daughter but she never complained once. I will definitely be going back. There are some dangerous slopes near the falls that anyone could slip or slide very easily so be careful.

Gorgeous trail starting out mostly in meadows ending up in more of a forested area. A few rollers during first 2.5 miles but the hike up to the falls was much steeper, though well maintained and easily trekkable with my son in a backpack and my 4 year old close behind. Falls are beautiful and there is a small clearing just above where you can sit, eat and recharge before making your way back out.

Lots of horse poop. Nice hike, beautiful waterfall.

Great family trail. Beautiful wild flowers and a good mix of shade and meadows. Trail condition was good.

I have severe knee problems, so even the easiest trails are difficult. With that said, I was able to make it to the falls and back with the help of poles in about 4 hours. We started about 8:15am on a Saturday and wish we started earlier due to human, horse, and dog traffic coming back. Parking was congested when we left after the hike. Lots of horse manure on the trail. Crossed lots of little streams, which gave an extra challenge if you didn’t want to get muddy and wet. Wasn’t in the sun much, especially after first half. Beautiful drive in and out with bison and elk sightings on what I assume is Ted Turner’s ranch.

Awesome morning hike to Pioneer Falls! Great views the entire hike. Definitely a great hike for anyone as it isn’t too steep for the majority of the hike. Ran into quite a few people on our way back out.

it was a beautiful mellow hike in a beautiful part of montana. the falls were well worth the trip and seeing bison on the road going up there was definitely a wonderful experience. road was great ti drive on especially having a low clearance vehicle. i want to return and head towards the lakes the next time.

Awesome trail! Its totally dry and only has a couple muddy parts! Hiked to the base of the falls and got an awesome view of the whole falls, definitely worth it and not too strenuous!

Ran out of battery to record the whole trail but so far so good!

Beautiful hike. The last mile has most the elevation gain. Quite a few horses so need to watch your step!

A nice easy trail with shade, many small streams for dogs to cool off, and a neat waterfall at the end.

One of the most beautiful hikes in Montana. It has everything - you cross at least 6 small streams, meadows full of wild flowers, deep forests, water falls, seclusion and quiet...etc! The first 2 miles are easy but if you are hiking to the falls the last mile + is rocky and uphill.

South Fork Spanish Creek Trail 407 to Mirror Lake. This is a 14-mile moderately trafficked out and back hike that features a well maintained trail, mountain vistas, wildflowers and berries, and a lake. The trail is used by backcountry horse riders and is also fine for dogs. The first third of the trail is easy and forks left with the popular Trail 410 to Pioneer Falls. The second third of the trail is moderate and forks left again at the intersection of Trail 411 to Spanish Lakes. The final 2.5 miles are harder and include most of the elevation gain. Mirror Lake is a nice alpine lake with good camping spots. Trail 407 continues on past the lake deeper into the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.

We’ve done this before, not bad except at the top rocky and strep

What a lovely trail! I would do this one again and especially a little earlier as the meadows of wild flowers were wonderful, but how much more a few weeks ago! It was an easy trail and only a few switchbacks at the top - but since the falls are falls, of course you must climb a bit. I must add that driving in was absolutely breathtaking! Like a Lamar Valley wow! The Flying D May be private but they have taken every effort to keep it picturesque. I only wish I had brought my acrylics or watercolors. I loved this day.

Hiked with our two toddlers and it was long (for hauling them) but the views kept us going. If you’re not looking to reach the falls it’s worth it to hike with kiddos as long as they’ll last. Went on a cool day so there weren’t many flies but suspect that would change given the amount of horse traffic in warmer weather. Would definitely do this again. Saw a black bear on Ted Turner’s land on the drive back to Bozeman, which was an added bonus!

Great hike for all ages and abilities. Go past the falls to the meadow for an added bonus!

Beautiful creekside trail with mountain view. Several open meadows with flowers galore. Easy trail until a more moderate half-mile uphill to falls. Saw a grizzly on the drive out, within a mile of the trailhead.

My fiancé and I tried to hike this trail May 6th but the road to the trailhead is closed until May 16th. We ended up walking up the road for about 3 miles. To get to the waterfall and back it would have been something like 11 miles. Though we were literally walking on a road we saw a moose, buffalo, deer and it was beautiful. We are looking forward to trying the actual hike one day. But would have loved to know the road was closed before hand. Make sure you check before you get your heart set in seeing a waterfall!

This trail is rated as an 'easy' trail. The first half is easy, but the second half should be listed as 'moderate'. Nonetheless, the payoff was worth it as the waterfall was very nice.

Dusty, buggy approach. All the fun was getting to the trailhead.