Barry’s Island Trail
in Montana
Barry’s Island Trail: Moderate, 4 Miles Round Trip The Barry’s Island trail starts as a two-track road leading north from the Barry’s Landing parking lot. The trail goes around Chain Canyon, a secret escape route for cattle rustlers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. At Barry’s Island, the road to the west goes to Medicine Creek Campground, a boat-in or hike-in only campground.
Continue following the road northeast (clockwise) around the island. The variation in water elevation is evident. During years of high water, the trail can be covered. If that is the case, take the bypass trail above the main trail.
- States
- Montana
- Trail type
- National Recreation Area trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Bozeman, MT · 143 mi · ~4 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 45.0966°, -108.2098°
About Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
This trail is inside Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, a national recreation area managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/barry-s-island-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/bica/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Barry’s Island Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Other trails within 50 miles
Hillsboro Trail
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Lower Layout Creek Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Upper Layout Creek Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Two Eagles Interpretive Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Lockhart Ranch Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Sullivan's Knob Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.