Nye Pie Pizza 2025 Summer Season

Groups hanging out by the Nye Pie tent and enjoying the nice spring weather

As of May 30th, Nye Pie Pizza is now open for the summer weekends!

While all of us at the Nye Trading Post are still working hard to get the building constructed for Nye Pie, we will be serving some of the best pizza in this part of Montana under the tent (weather permitting) every Friday and Saturday - from 11 AM through 6 PM - for the entire foreseeable summer season - with the exception of the Saturday of Nye Goes Nuts on July 12th.

A 3D render of the concept that the Nye Pie Pizza building is being based on

On the week before our opening day of May 30th, we were able to pour our first half of our foundation slab for the building construction. This slab will be the foundation of our enclosed kitchen space and has various piping installed in the concrete for drainage, water supply, and electrical conduits that will be hooked up much later in the project and be a great convenience to us in the future.

For now, we are making arrangements to have the other half of the slab - which serves as the foundation of the patio section of our building - formed and poured within the next week.

The patio section will ultimately serve as protection from bad weather for us and customers but will also likely be used as a limited seating area, order pick-up counter, and a place to set up things like TVs and speakers for entertainment.

After the final concrete slab is poured and fully set, we expect the remaining construction of the building will come together pretty quickly as we have been making arrangements for all of our materials during this time that we have been waiting to have concrete brought in.

In the meantime, as of this post, Nye Pie Pizza - under the tent - has had two very successful

weekends so far; hundreds of pizzas have been sold already and dozens of people have come to us to let us know that they enjoyed some of the best pizza that they've ever had.

The only hiccup we've had so far was with the Friday morning of our second weekend, which was regarding a medical concern with one of us that we believed was going to make it impossible to open at all for the weekend but it was pretty quickly taken care of and resulted in Nye Pie simply opening about an hour later than usual. The delay did result in Nye Pie being unavailable for Friday lunch, unfortunately.

But regardless of that situation, Nye Pie has been enjoying what seems to be the start of a very good year.

A pizza with pepperoni and sausage being prepared at Nye Pie

Aside from pizza, Nye Pie is now offering more on the menu like pan style pizzas with a deeper crust, the 'Gold Bars' cheesy bread which is stacked with cheese and a special buttery blend, and even desserts like the 'Cinna-Bars', ice cream cones, and hot fudge brownie sundae.

Great pizza will always be the main focus but all of us working Nye Pie hope to provide variety and a great experience for those stopping by.

We have had hundreds of take-out menus printed that have begun to make their way around the local communities but you can now also find an online menu and contact information right here on this website if you're interested to see what we're offering.

Nye Pie's Mt. Abundance Specialty baked 'Pan Style'

While there's still much more that we dream of pursuing with Nye Pie in the future, we certainly are feeling the restraints of all that we can manage under a tent at the moment. Making pizzas timely and up to our standards is now easier than ever thanks to some new appliances we were able to get under our tent this year but moving everything in and out of storage every morning and evening has proven to be incredibly time consuming, degrading the durability of our equipment, and ultimately restraining us from doing more. This isn't stopping us from continuing to open Nye Pie every weekend but it does certainly add to our eagerness to move everything into its own structure soon.

We're still some time away from having any kind of date for a 'grand opening' of the new building, but our current predictions are generally aiming towards late June or Early July of this year - so we've got at least a few more weekends under our roadside tent.

Finally, we're incredibly grateful for everyone that has come out to see us and enjoy some of the awesome food we're working our butts off to make out here. We recognize many people that come out everyday - either to support us or just because they really like the pizza - but either way, we can not thank you all enough and hope to keep seeing all of you stop by.

For the latest information on what's going on with Nye Pie - like new specials, construction updates, or any changes to our schedule that might occur due to unforeseen circumstances, be sure to follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nyetradingpostnyemt

Or if you're interested in helping us do more with our construction of the official Nye Pie Pizza building, check out the GoFundMe donation page: https://gofund.me/dc8bc897

New Bridge Installed at Woodbine Falls Trail

A new bridge has been installed to replace the older wooden bridge used to cross the stream on the Woodbine Falls trail that was washed away in the river floods of 2022.

Despite nearly no posted notices of the bridges installation, the forest service crew installed the bridge sometime before June 13th.

This new bridge is a metal construction that appears to be much stronger and on better foundation than the previous wooden bridge.

Woodbine Falls trail is now fully accessible without having to cross over any narrow fallen trees laying over the stream.

The Woodbine Falls Trail

The entry area to the Woodbine Falls Trailhead, featuring a sign stating, "Trail Bridge Out Ahead"

The Woodbine Falls trail is among the greatest hiking experiences you can have in this little area of the Beartooth Mountains around Nye. This trail is treasured for its ease of hiking for people of many ages, its connection to the adjacent Woodbine Campground, and - of course - the powerful and spectacular Woodbine Falls that can be seen by hikers at the viewing area at the summit of the trail.

Following highway 419 (Nye Rd) to it's western end and traveling through the paved and pothole-ridden road for a few miles, you arrive at a fork in the road before you reach the craggy mountain ridges and cliffs just a couple of miles ahead of you. Continuing to the right leads you to The Sioux Charley Lake Trail - which is itself likely one of the best trails in the Custer Gallatin Forest - but what you come across if you go left depends on the time of the year. In the summer season (Usually starting mid-May), you'll drive straight into the Woodbine Campground after crossing a small bridge across the Stillwater River and continue up to the parking area for the trail. Though, in the off-season (starting around mid-September), you'll have to park at the fork in the road and walk around a closed gate and then proceed through the campground on foot to reach the parking area and trailhead - adding about a quarter of a mile to the total hike.

The beginning stage of the trail immediately puts you into the pine forest as it funnels you between some of the northern most campsites of the Woodbine Campground that can be seen through the trees and a rocky whitewater stream pouring through boulders and dead fallen trees that lay scatted around the water. The stream at this point is 'Woodbine Creek' - just a few hundred feet before it flows into the Stillwater River. While this trail would originally lead you to a small wooden foot bridge with railings to cross Woodbine Creek and begin the ascent up to the rest of the trail, the bridge is now missing - destroyed and removed after the river flooding in the area in June of 2022.

Some logs that seem to have been placed across the stream by previous visitors to help cross the water. Many of them sank when stepped on.

Instead of the sturdy bridge crossing, there are a handful of fallen trees that stretch across the water with their bark worn down from people using them as a narrow walkway to cross.

During my recent visit to the trail, there were also a few logs placed across a shallow part of the stream. Many of the logs simply bobbed in the water without offering much for footing to cross but crossing was still possible and much more comfortable than walking across a skinny fallen tree or just sloshing through the stream itself. Knowing how this stream gets during it's run-off, the logs (and possibly the fallen trees) are likely to be swept downriver eventually.

Hopefully a real bridge will be re-established to cross the Woodbine Creek soon.

As of writing this post, there are plans to have a new bridge installed here as soon as early June of 2025 (about a month from posting this) which would be great timing for summer visitors hoping to be able to cross and see the waterfall at its full power this year.

However, the weather in this region is known for its unpredictability around this time of the year and it has a habit of delaying outdoor projects through the late spring.

Late June 2025 Update: New bridge for this trail has been installed. It's a raised and somewhat arched metal constructed bridge.

After crossing Woodbine Creek, the trail leads into a short series of switchbacks that steadily climb up the hillside - winding around pine trees, tall stacks of boulders, and colorful flowers as the trail continues upwards toward the waterfall.

The elevation climb for this part of the trail can be tiring after a while for anyone that isn't used to walking up inclines like this for so long but, fortunately, there are plenty of comfortable places to step off trail and take a break.

According to information on AllTrails, the ascent from the Campground to the trail's summit next to the waterfall is around 300 feet, most of which is through the steady climb of these switchbacks.

At the top of the first few switchbacks, before you walk into a small open meadow that begins to lead back into the forest, there's a craggy set of rocks shortly off-trail and at the top of a steep hill that - when you climb up to it - puts you at the top of an enormous cliff with a great panorama view of the surrounding mountains and the nearby Beartooth Ranch that you passed driving in.

Climbing out of the switchbacks, the trail levels out a little bit into an interesting but small area of grassy meadow with flower beds and rocky out-crops jutting out of the grass. It's around this point in the trail that you start to realize just how high you've hiked up and some great views of the nearby Beartooth mountain ridges can be seen up here if you stop and take in the sights.

This point in the trail also marks about half-way through the hike to the Woodbine Falls viewing area but while most people come here for that view of the waterfall, the high-elevation views from this trail give a pretty equally fantastic experience as you look out into the mountain landscape.

Continuing upwards, the forest becomes denser and some parts of the trail just barely slide in between the trees and large smooth boulders wrapped in fallen pine needles.

The path carries on into one more switchback and then carves into a final stretch that cuts between steep hillside and a reasonably steep drop into a small gully as it continues through the dense pine trees.

Right as you're about to reach the end of the trail, there's one more iconic sight to be found on the trail before the waterfall - a miniature waterfall running down the moss and rocks. This little stream pours down into its own creek that runs under a tiny stone bridge built to cross it and then streams away into the nearby gully.

It's been known that some people dare to drink from the little stream here and while it probably is some of the freshest water you can drink in the area, a water filter is likely still a good idea to use.

After crossing the little stone bridge and walking maybe only a hundred feet further, you finally arrive at the trail's end.

This photo of the waterfall was taken in April, when the volume of water coming down is much less. Mid to late June/Early July is about the best time to see it really moving.

This perspective is a little bit further up the hillside from the end of the trail. It's fairly steep but a much greater view.

Finally, the trail ends at the established viewing area that almost anyone on this trail has certainly come here to see. A sturdy stone wall has been built around this point to make this a safe place to stand and take in the sights and sounds of the waterfall pouring down the jagged cliff edge next to moss-covered rock.

It's very easy to take a seat on the walls (the parts that don't face the drop into the creek, of course) and just relax for a while while taking in the enormity of the naturally made features here.

In the summers, this area is often populated with people enjoying the view and catching their breath before continuing back down to the campground.

If the view from this angle leaves you wanting a better vantage point of the top of the falls, there is a nearby access just before the walled-in viewing point that leads off trail and up into the hillside. It becomes more of a climb than a hike (and isn't as safe) but can lead you to the very top of the waterfall if you have the stamina for it.

Woodbine Falls is considered by many to be one of the most stunning waterfall views in the state - which is saying something for a state known for its spectacular mountain landscapes that stretch all the way from here in the Beartooth range to Glacier National Park.

While the timing of our visit didn't line up with the waterfall's best display of power, it's still quite the sight to see. Much like the Sioux Charley Trail nearby, this trail provides an up-close look at the immense strength of these rivers as they crash through pure rock before they settle and meander down the entire Stillwater County area and finally merge into the larger Yellowstone River.

Those of us that are local to the area are more than familiar with the power that these rivers have after the flooding of 2022 which destroyed a lot of riverside homes, bridges, and other infrastructure in the area - including the bridge that was washed out from this trail.

Whether a new bridge is installed for the trail this summer or not (as of June 2025, it has been) , the Woodbine Falls Trail continues to live up to its reputation as a splendid hiking experience and I highly recommend to anyone to get out and see it in person.