Ross Creek Trails, Bad Medicine Campground, MT



 'Twin' cedars on Ross Creek Cedar Grove Trail

Camping at Bad Medicine and Bull Lake was so serene that we decided to stay an additional day and night.  Another good reason to stay was the nearby Ross Creek Cedar Grove Nature Trail, known for its 500 - 1,000 year-old cedars. The Forest Service manages this 100-acre Scenic Area that was established in 1959 to protect the cedars for scientific and recreational value. 

Beautiful red fungi in the Cedar Grove
 

We started on the trail early as we planned to combine the Nature Trail with the South Fork Ross Creek Trail for about a 9 mile round trip hike with a 1500’ elevation gain. The first mile was through the Cedar Grove and wound through a canopy of hanging moss and huge western red cedars.  There were many large specimen trees and lush ferns on the shady forest floor.
 

South Fork Ross Creek Falls



Ross Creek near the Falls

 

Once through the cedars, the trail was not well maintained. After spending some time searching for a way to cross Ross Creek, we were finally able to crawl across a log (Maya did it in much better style). With a little searching we found the trail on the other side of the creek and followed the trail several miles up a steep canyon to a waterfall.  It was beautiful but very small and we thought for all the effort we went to, the waterfall should have been at least a few hundred feet high!

Lunch near the falls