Ousel Falls Park & Trailhead — Attraction in Big Sky

Ousel Falls is a BEAUTIFUL waterfall!! Easily one of the most impressive in this area of Montana. Best thing is? It is very easy to get to! The trail is paved, which even makes it handicap accessible (albeit with some steeper parts), and it’s a nice 20-minute stroll to get to the main falls. Don’t think it’s boring along the stroll though - you have beautiful views of the trees and river and other scenery all along the path!

In summer, it’s a pretty popular destination. Many people in Big Sky visit with their dogs just to get their exercise in, and after it rains the falls are even more impressive. Try to time your visit after some heavier rainstorms (of course keeping in mind it’ll be muddy, so wear proper shoes)!

In winter, the falls are even more beautiful. They are pretty much entirely frozen, and you can walk right up to the ice! It is otherworldly seeing so much ice around, even if you’re from Big Sky! As an added bonus, way fewer people come in winter, so you might have the whole park to yourself! Do keep in mind though, it is quite slippery walking down to the waterfall in winter, especially if there have been some warmer days before your visit (as melting and re-freezing forms ice on the path), so be very careful when you’re visiting, and bring shoes with proper treading!

All in all, this is a must-visit when you’re in Big Sky. Whether you’re coming to the area in summer to visit Yellowstone, or in winter to ski up at the mountain, take one morning and head down to Ousel Falls. You’ll not be...

I gave this a 3 star, not because of the hike....it is a 5+ star. Easy to walk, a few hills, but not bad. And beautiful scenery. The rating was for the 2 bathrooms at the trailhead. OMG....what a mess. The one had no toilet tissue (4 empty rolls) and the other one was so filthy, it was pathetic. This was early on a Sunday morning, so no telling what it looked like by the end of the day. Many of the people there were commenting. This occurred on 9-10-2023. The other issue was that there were a few dogs there, with responsible owners. But one couple had two dogs, one for sure had a muzzle. And as we walked by, I thought that dog was coming at me. I'm sorry, no dog who is required to have a muzzle should be out in public where there are...

As of today, parts of the trail are very, very icy and slippery. If you plan on going, highly recommend wearing ice grippers. Not considering the iciness, it's a fairly easy walk, but there are up and down areas, so it could be moderately challenging for those that are mostly used to walking straight on City streets or on treadmills, for example. We got a little past the first bridge. That's the part that became steep uphill and very icy (about halfway through the trail), so we turned around. Up to that point, there are limited areas with hand rails. The sides are steep drops, so you have to be very careful not to slip, lest you have a very unpleasant tumble. Views throughout are very...