Hillsboro Trail
in Montana
Hillsboro: Easy to Moderate, 1 to 3 Miles Round Trip Attracted to the colors of the canyon and the possibility of those colors yielding gold,Dr. Barry began exploring Bighorn Canyon in the 1890s. During his exploration, he happened upon the Trail Creek Valley.
He never found enough gold to make himself rich, but the canyon and the surrounding environment offered all he needed to make another kind of fortune. He converted to operating a guest ranch. He used the natural opportunities of hiking, fishing, hunting, camping, and horseback riding to entice more clientele to his ranch.
You may visit Hillsboro in the Trail Creek Valley one of two ways: the first, a one-mile round trip hike begins by driving up the red dirt road between Trail Creek campground and Barry’s Landing to a closed gate. From there, a half-mile hike will take you to the abandoned site of Hillsboro ranch. Take some time to explore the buildings and learn how the Barrys ran the Hillsboro Guest Ranch.
- States
- Montana
- Trail type
- National Recreation Area trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Bozeman, MT · 143 mi · ~4 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 45.0981°, -108.2200°
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/hillsboro-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 Hillsboro 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
Barry’s Island Trail
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Upper Layout Creek Trail
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Lower Layout Creek Trail
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Two Eagles Interpretive Trail
2 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.