Paradise valley is incredibly beautiful, as seen in the above photo, featuring some of the most stunning views I’ve seen in a western Montana valley, with the Yellowstone river running through it. It’s easy to see how it got its name, and why the area is a popular wedding location. So I wasn’t surprised when a friend of mine and his fiancé chose the area for theirs. On the way home from the wedding I decided to go for a hike up to pine creek falls, as it is right on the way home, and it is one of the few popular hikes in the area on my list to visit that I hadn’t done yet. Plus it was an excuse to get my dog Dakota some much needed exercise and spend some time in nature...
It was a gorgeous fall day, warm for November, cloudy but the rain forecasted for the day had already fallen and the hike went smoothly without a drop of precipitation.
It’s only about a mile from the trailhead to the falls, along Pine Creek, and not too steep, but the remaining 4 miles from the falls to the lakes is one of the steepest trails in the state, gaining 1,000 feet per mile the whole way, but that wasn’t on the agenda for this day...
The falls themselves were gorgeous, and the main and only real exciting attraction of the trip, but definitely worth the hike.
Montana sure does have its upsides, with the views and outdoor recreation opportunities chief among them.