Jones Creek Trail

Absolutely beautiful day to be on this trail. Dry and very easy going. Unfortunately we didn’t see any wildlife. Only ran into half dozen others so had most of it to ourselves.

Love the different terrain. Crossed a shallow creek 4 times. Saw a buffalo. The trail smells great. A lot of sage brush. We only went to the roundup trail split and came back.

This is a really nice easy trail. Like a lot of trails in this park, there is very little elevation change which I like because it makes for a more relaxed hiking experience. I had actually only planned to go about halfway before turning around, but I was feeling so good I went ahead and did the whole thing. The trail is really clear - one of the clearest and easiest to follow in the park - and meets up with some other trails if you want to make a loop of it. The views on this one aren’t particularly exciting, but it is nice to see the center of the park where the roads don’t go. This is also a good access point if you want to backcountry in the interior.

Amazing quick hike for an overnight spot at the top of the buttes. Great views of the river and surrounding area. Went north off trail to set up camp about a half mile in.

We had a beautiful, sunny, puffy cloud day and hiked to the intersection with the Roundup Trail and back to parking area, mostly flat. The creek was low, just a few places to walk thru a bit of mud. I recommend plenty of water since the trail is very exposed. This was a very relaxing hike and we never saw another hiker or rider.

Saw one buffalo along the path, but otherwise had it pretty much to ourselves. I'd have considered this closer to the easy end of moderate. Wasn't rocky at all and was pretty flat. Good start to the morning!

Made it a loop by taking Jones Creek, Lower Talkington and then Lower Paddock on the way back and through Peaceful Valley Ranch. About 4hr hike w/o stop. Creeks were easy to cross. Quite a few bugs on Paddock. Of course pretty hot at some point and not much shade (worse after Jones Creek I felt).

We attempted the Lower Paddock trail and turned around due to a large bison herd moving through....so we tried this instead. We didn’t see much wildlife, but that was ok. My young children enjoyed the trail and it was perfect for them (relatively flat, easy to navigate, well marked). Creek bed was completely dry. Take lots of water as shade is very sparse

Great trail ! Beautiful scenery and saw a ton of prairie dogs ! It had just rained so it was super muddy , but well worth it.

What a nice hike. Should be classified as “Easy”. Other than 3 crossing of Jones Creek, the trail is relatively level. Saw several antelope. Wild flowers were fantastic.

We started on the Lower Trailhead.. The trail is easy to hike, we had an encounter with a wild stallion who was coming down the hill when he saw a couple on horses. The 1 creek crossing is sketchy but we made it carefully. The creek was dry. O our return we found an easier way to cross ( if my pictures post look at the black circle area, this is where you want to cross. The only animals we saw were prairie dogs. My husband has been hoping to see snakes ( he loves them) but nothing.. others told us they saw them today, especially near the trailhead probably because of the rabbits in the sage.

Nice introduction to the park, conditions are very muddy!

Hiked on March 30th. Amazing trail in the valley and around the creeks. We lost the trail at the first creek crossing but found it again shortly. Linked with lower talkington then turned around after encountering 10-15 bison on trail

Fantastic hike that not many other people enjoy. My first creek crossing would have been harrowing but I followed an animal trail and dipped into the creek at this point. Since it was late in the season the creek was very shallow and dry in areas and I was able to walk the creek bed and come out easily. Glad I didn't do this in the mud!

I hiked this trail in August and luckily it was dry. Encountered a Bison rolling in the dust and wild horses. Great scenery but more of a trail for wild horses and Bison.

This trail is fairly easy, but I would keep the moderate rating because of the creek crossings. The bank of the first crossing of coming from the west, was completely washed out when I went out. I wouldn't hike this trail for 12 hours after any rain fall. Becomes very muddy and therefore slippery. But the wild flowers and rolling hills scenery were amazing.

I hiked this trail in July to loop back from the Lower Paddock Creek Trail, and despite tiring from the 11-mile hike on a 100-degree day, I enjoyed this section and thought it was a little more enjoyable than Lower Paddock Creek. It's a great way to experience the park on foot. I saw several bison grazing at a distance, and I enjoyed following the muddy creek.

Though I've been there more than once, the last time I was here I did this (morning start 68, noon end 90+) trail as part of the Upper Paddock/Jones Creek Loop . Had to deal with a lot of bison scat and give way to them on the trail, but the last made it worth while. Would recommend this trail to those who want the solitude of an empty trail in a seemingly vast grassland.