THE PATH LEAST TAKEN

January 1, 2025

THE DRIVE DOWN TO HEBGEN LAKE from Big Sky Town Center is around 48 miles. It’s a pleasant, scenic route that takes you to the north side of the lake and the Red Canyon Trailhead in just under an hour.

Then there’s the mountain bike route, a rugged, unimproved, challenging, 55 mile ride with more than 9,100 vertical feet of climbing. Flowy singletrack? Hardly, but a collection of trails that provide the means to a rewarding end. It’s a dawn to dark endeavor that’s incredibly scenic alright, but a long and hard ride that takes not only planning, but assembling a small group of like-minded riders that are up for a somewhat wonderful and masochistic challenge.

Big Sky to Hebgen is anything but a gimme. The climbing will test your legs and lungs, there are hike-a-bike sections, and the trails, while smooth and fun in plenty of spots, can also be wildlife hammered in places, rutted in others, and impossible to ride when wet, thanks to clay-based soil.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s an incredible ride. When we rode it, we didn’t see anyone other than our group over the course of the entire journey. We did, however, see a lot of elk, plenty of deer, and a moose cow and calf. Combine that with vast mountain views, beautiful creeks, and meadow upon meadow of wildflowers, and it was most certainly worth the effort.

But having good weather is vital. We originally wanted to ride Big Sky to Hebgen in the summer of 2023, but rain and heat dissuaded any thoughts of taking a stab at it. Our opportunity presented itself this past summer (2024), when a short window in August provided the perfect conditions: a high temperature of 65 degrees and not a drop of rain on the radar.

We were in the saddle for 12-plus hours and finished in the dark with headlamps showing us the way down to the Red Canyon Trailhead, where we had shuttled a vehicle the day before. It was a long but great day. And yes, we enjoyed the short, pleasant, hour-long drive back to Big Sky.

A view of 10,876 foot Sphinx Mountain as seen from Buck Ridge.

THE RIDERS

My cohorts along for the ride were Tom Owen, owner of Gallatin Alpine Sports, Bob Allen, photographer and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member, and Big Sky Resort’s Taylor Middleton. We had all taken up mountain biking in the mid to late 1980s when the sport and the singletrack were rougher, and while the awesome buffed and bermed trails of today in Big Sky are a far cry from old school rides like this, there is still something about looking at a map that harkens back to the days when we used a finger to point out a trail or ride and wonder what the heck that’s like. Big Sky to Hebgen is one of those. My recommendation? Just Go.

TAYLOR MIDDLETON - On tackling the daunting initial climb up First Yellow Mule Trail: “You start with confidence. At the top you’ve notched down to tired. And after descending to the Taylor Fork, you’re humble.”

TOM OWEN - On exploring the peaks, forests, and wide-open spaces south of Big Sky on a mountain bike:“Riding in the vast terrain of Custer Gallatin National Forest near the perimeter of Yellowstone National Park is anything but easy, but the payoff is huge. It’s a true adventure.”

BOB ALLEN - On long, hard rides: “It takes a certain amount of denial and amnesia to sign up for big rides. There’s always an endless climb that makes me question why I am voluntarily suffering so much. But the satisfaction of cracking a beer to cheer the successful completion of a looooong day reminds me why I ride mountain bikes through these wild places.”