- Hike: Bighorn National Forest
Max and I did three dog-friendly trails in Bighorn National Forest. Our first stop was to North Cove Boating Site. On the northern shore of Meadowlark Lake there is a large parking lot and boat ramp. Just passed the boat ramp is an out and back trail along the shore of the lake that boasts beautiful wildflowers. What drew us to this trail, though, was that it was a hot July day and Max needed to go for a swim! Our next hike was Paradise Falls, a 1.6 mile out and back trail in Bighorn that leads to a waterfall. The trailhead is off Forest Road 121, but the forest road is not well marked and there is no sign at the trailhead, so it can be difficult to find. The dirt road eventually becomes circle of dirt and there are remnants of a fire pit- that’s how you will know you’ve reached the end. Then, the trail kind of branches off this dirt road. When I arrived, there were no other cars so I was confused as to where the dirt road ends and the trail begins. If there are cars parked there, it will be more obvious. There will be a tricky descent down in the begining, then some nice rolling meadows. When you reach the waterfall you will be on top of it, on some slippery rocks. I guess there is a route down to the base of the falls, but I could not find it and it was quite slippery as it was drizzling out so I didn’t want to risk going any further. Lastly, Max and I hiked Porcupine Falls. This trailhead is very easy to get to and very obvious. The trail is only 0.8 miles out and back, but you will get a good workout in on the climb back up from the falls. The way down is a quick switchback and then many, many stone steps to the bottom of the falls. The waterfall is gorgeous and definitely worth the difficult ascent back up, but coming up all those steps was challenging!
2. Stay: Shell Campground and RV Park
The town of Shell has a population of just 74 people. You definitely want to stop for gas and food before you get here. We stopped in Greybull for everything we needed, then headed into Shell to stay in a cabin at Shell Campground. The cabins have bathrooms, a mini fridge, a microwave, and wifi. There is also an on-site laundry room with coin-operated machines. The town literally only consists of this campground, a bar, a post office, and a small store/cafe combo. However, the cabins are dog-friendly and the campground is well taken care of, with many grassy spots and a little creek running by. We had a very comfortable, peaceful stay here. For our morning walk, we would walk from the campground to the store/cafe, where they had a very large backyard area that was grassy with trees and picnic tables. Max would walk around the yard sniffing and exploring, then we’d head back to the cabin.
