Palisade Falls is a 145-foot horsetail waterfall in Hyalite Canyon, Gallatin County, Montana, pouring off a vertical rock wall in the Custer Gallatin National Forest south of Bozeman. A short paved trail designed for visitors with disabilities leads to a bridge in front of the falls.
The falls
The water drops in a single horsetail down a cliff at the southern base of Palisade Mountain, on a small tributary reached from the East Fork of Hyalite Creek. The World Waterfall Database puts the drop at about 145 feet based on lidar data; earlier surveys listed 98 feet, while other accounts give more than 80 feet. The cliff is basalt, with a scree field below it. The falls sit at about 7,291 feet.
Getting there
From Bozeman, drivers head south on 19th Avenue to Hyalite Canyon Road, up the canyon past Hyalite Reservoir, then turn left at the fork to the signed Palisade trailhead. A paved nature trail of about half a mile each way (1.2 miles round trip with 227 feet of gain) is designed for visitors with disabilities, with a picnic area and an accessible toilet at the trailhead but no drinking water.
When to go
Hyalite Canyon Road closes to vehicles every spring from April 1 until mid-May, and East Fork Hyalite Road 3163 closes to motor vehicles from January 1 to May 15. The shaded trail stays cool in summer and gets slick in winter; it is also a winter destination once the snow is packed, when the falls freeze into an icefall. The trail is popular and busy.
On site
The mostly paved trail ends at a bridge in front of the falls, providing wheelchair and stroller access. Beyond it, informal social trails climb the scree toward the base. Leashed dogs are allowed.
Nearby
East Fork Hyalite Creek Falls is about 1.6 miles away and Horsetail Falls about 2.1 miles. In the main Hyalite Canyon, Grotto Falls is about 2.8 miles away and Twin Falls about 3.5 miles. Bozeman is about 15.4 miles to the north.
Distances are straight-line.