History Rock to South Cottonwood

Read the trail description of History Rock for the ascent.  Once you reach the top of History Rock and have fueled up for the trail ahead, be mindful of the first portion of the downhill as you descend down into the forest.  The upper section from History Rock into the forest is deeply rutted and filled with loose rock which lends itself to locking your wheels into the trail making it very difficult to regain your balance, if you brush against the sides.  Once in the trees the trail widens slightly but the technical level quickly increases with steep off camber switchbacks, rock drops as large as 14”, off camber roots running perpendicular to the trail, etc.  At the bottom, you will cross a bridge and come to an intersection.  Go right towards South Cottonwood trailhead. Typically, the upper section of South Cottonwood is less traveled and you have free reign to let it rip (but still be aware to uphill traffic).  Read South Cottonwood for trail description as for what to expect on the downhill.  You will cross 4 more bridges before you reach the trailhead.

Driving Directions:

            Departing from Bozeman, drive west on Main Street and take a left (south) on 19th.  Continue to drive on 19th Street headed south and west out of town Take S. 19th out past Hyalite to the intersection with Cottonwood Rd. Turn left and wind through a big right bend before taking another left Cottonwood Canyon Rd. From there, it’s about 2 miles to the trailhead at the end of the road. Once you leave a vehicle at the South Cottonwood trailhead retrace your steps back towards Hyalite Canyon road and turn right. Continue up approx. 10 miles and make a right-hand turn into the History Rock trailhead parking lot. If you reach the reservoir, you have gone too far.

Google Maps Driving Directions (IOS and Android compatible)