The Green Bridge Isn't Green Anymore, and Deer Creek Gets Its First Late Season Back

"We're excited for the future of this area—safer access, improved trailhead infrastructure and a brand-new two-lane bridge designed to serve the community for decades to come." That was Custer Gallatin National Forest's announcement on August 28, as reported by Explore Big Sky.

The bridge in question is the Markley Bridge. Anyone who has driven US 191 for a while knows it as the Green Bridge, the river crossing about four miles north of Big Sky that leads to the Deer Creek Trailhead. It reopened in late summer, so this is the first late fall the canyon has had with the new bridge in place. For most of November, the woods past it are shared with rifle season and an active food storage order, and a neighboring canyon trail has been listed as closed through October. The bridge was built to last for decades, but November is its first real test as a neighborhood trailhead.

Five and a Half Months Without the Crossing

The closure was long enough that Deer Creek may have dropped out of the habit of people who live along the canyon. The Forest Service schedule ran like this:

1. January 28, 2026. The Bozeman Ranger District announced the replacement project.
2. March 9. Work began, and the trailhead was closed for the project. The closure covered Deer Creek Trail #481 from the trailhead to its junction with Table Mountain Trail #445.
3. March 9 through May 18. The Gallatin River was closed at the work site. On the highway, the Forest Service planned for possible one-lane nighttime closures between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., with delays of up to 15 minutes, but no full closure of US 191.
4. August 28. The new bridge was announced open. Explore Big Sky reported that some utility work would continue for several weeks afterward.
5. October 31, 5 p.m. This is the printed end of the construction-era closure order, number 01-11-06-26-01. The order barred anyone from being on the bridge, parking in the Deer Creek lot against posted instructions, or using Trail #481 between the trailhead and the #445 junction.

From the March 9 start to the August 28 opening is about five and a half months, which covered all of spring and most of summer. The Forest Service thanked Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Department of Transportation for managing river and highway traffic during construction, "and to everyone who showed patience throughout closures," Explore Big Sky reported.

What Changed Besides the Bridge

The new bridge is the obvious change. The other two improvements matter more on an ordinary weekday. The Forest Service also improved the trailhead parking lot and the stretch of Deer Creek Trail from the trailhead up to the Table Mountain Trail junction. On the Hiking Project trail listing, that junction is a little over five miles in. That means the improved section covers most of the approach toward the lakes, not just the first few hundred feet past the parking lot.

The Great American Outdoors Act paid for the replacement, $2,473,136 spread over multiple years. The paint color is gone. Grant Morrison, a civil engineer with the Custer Gallatin, said in a March release that the new bridge would keep some of the original's look, but that the green itself did not survive the budget:

"Initial considerations for making the new bridge 'green' were explored, but the long-term maintenance needs and associated costs were determined to be unsustainable."

Nobody is certain how old the bridge it replaced was. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle described the old structure as a riveted Warren pony truss. The Forest Service gave 1970 as the year it was installed, but a historian the paper spoke with thought a 1933 article might be describing the same bridge and called that date plausible. Either way, the crossing is two lanes now, and the name will likely outlast the paint.

Where the Improved Miles Lead

Deer Creek is a climb, not a riverside stroll. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle describes it as roughly six miles and 3,200 feet of gain to Deer Lake, in the southeast corner of the Spanish Peaks section of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. Distances on user-maintained trail listings vary a little, so the figures below are approximate.

The route heads into designated wilderness, and Wilderness Connect notes that bicycles and other mechanical transport are generally prohibited in wilderness. Deer Creek is a hiking and stock trail, which sets it apart from the bike routes on the Big Sky side of the river.

The lower miles are what this time of year is about. A 9,803-foot high point on Table Mountain is a summer destination. The improved stretch below the #445 junction is the stretch within reach of an afternoon walk from a canyon address in November.

November Shares the Woods

The bridge reopened in August, when the canyon belonged to hikers and anglers. November is a different season on the same national forest land.

Rifle season covers almost all of it. The 2026 general deer and elk season runs October 24 through November 29, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. That puts nearly every November weekend inside the season. FWP's safety guidance recommends blaze orange in areas with heavy hunter traffic, including on the walk to and from a vehicle.

The food storage order hasn't ended. On the Bozeman Ranger District, the Custer Gallatin's Food Storage Order runs through at least December 1, 2026. It requires food, refuse and other attractants to be either attended or secured by the methods the order lists, such as bear-resistant containers, vehicles or buildings. The Forest Service's recreation best practices cover the rest: travel in groups, make noise, keep bear spray within reach, avoid dawn and dusk, and stay away from carcasses. Deer Creek's first late season back overlaps with hunting season, so the carcass advice applies more than it usually would on a hiking trail.

Storm Castle has been listed as closed through October. Elsewhere in the canyon, the Forest Service closed Storm Castle Creek Trail #185 on August 7 after storm damage that included debris, unstable slopes and washed-out tread. The closure runs from the Timber Butte Trailhead to the ridgeline south of Divide Peak. The alert, order 01-11-06-26-07, lists October 31 as its end date. Whether the trail reopens on that date depends on the Forest Service's assessment of the damage, so Deer Creek's new access arrives while a nearby trail's status is still being settled.

Before the First November Walk

Both the Markley construction order and the Storm Castle alert carry October 31 end dates, and the Markley order states that it stays in effect until then unless the Forest Service rescinds it first. Three checks cover the first walks of November:

• Read the posted signs at the Deer Creek lot. The construction order specifically addressed parking "in violation of posted instructions," so the signs at the lot are the current word on parking.
• Check the Custer Gallatin alerts page for Storm Castle before planning a loop on the west side of the canyon.
• For anything not posted, call the Bozeman Ranger District at (406) 587-6710, the contact number listed on the Storm Castle alert.

The food storage and hunting rules above are summaries of public orders and regulations, linked so they can be read in full. Treat this as general information, not legal advice, and confirm the details with the agency involved before relying on them.

Julie keeps track of how the canyon works season by season, from the afternoon fishing window on the Gallatin to which trailheads are open in which months. Those details shape daily life along US 191 more than any listing sheet does. If you'd like to hear when a property near Deer Creek or anywhere in Gallatin Canyon comes on the market, Julie Blakeley can send it straight to you. Receive Listings in Your Inbox.