Montana trails · Gallatin Crest
Gallatin Crest
A 21.9-mile point-to-point in Montana, with 1,150 ft of climbing. Reaches Windy Pass and other lake/pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 4,458 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Windy Pass (pass)
- The Sentinel (summit)
- Crater Lake (lake)
- Hyalite Peak (summit)
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:13 a.m., the sun rises at 6:43 a.m. and sets at 8:03 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:34 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 21.9-mile route takes roughly 8 h 40 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:24 p.m. — 4 h 39 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Windy Pass + Gallatin Crest + Windy Pass Cabin — 6.0 mi loop, 500 ft gain
- Gallatin Crest + East Windy Pass + Big Creek — 13.9 mi loop, 2,566 ft gain
- Gallatin Crest + Mist Creek + Big Creek — 16.1 mi loop, 3,365 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Hyalite Creek — 4.5 mi
- Indian Ridge — 14.4 mi
- Indian Ridge Trail — 14.4 mi
- Sky Rim Trail — 20.0 mi