Lockhart Ranch Trail
in Montana
Lockhart Ranch: Easy, 0.5 or 2.1 Miles Round Trip Beyond the Barry’s Landing junction, the park road becomes unpaved. Follow this dirt road to the trailhead. The Lockhart Ranch is representative of life for western ranchers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The gentle flow of Davis and Cottonwood Creeks provided the life force of the ranch. Ditches running from Davis Creek took advantage of the natural topography of the land by using gravity to irrigate the surrounding pastures. You can take the half-mile loop through the ranch or you can take an extended two-mile hike along the historic county road.
The trail begins at the two-track road east of the corrals near the garage. Follow the road along the northern edge of Caroline Lockhart’s livestock pastures. This path leads to Davis Creek. Following the two-track along Davis Creek will bring you to an old metal gate and the dirt road.
- States
- Montana
- Trail type
- National Recreation Area trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Bozeman, MT · 141 mi · ~4 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 45.1378°, -108.2445°
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/lockhart-ranch-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 Lockhart Ranch 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
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Barry’s Island Trail
3 miles from this trail's centroid
Upper Layout Creek Trail
4 miles from this trail's centroid
Lower Layout Creek Trail
4 miles from this trail's centroid
Two Eagles Interpretive Trail
4 miles from this trail's centroid
Sullivan's Knob Trail
7 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.