Falls Creek on the first day of Fall

The biggest falls on the creek

We were surprised by the coloration of this outcropping

This part of the canyon had shales the same colors as those in Glacier Park

Mark Hertenstein above the second largest falls on the creek

The second largest falls on the creek

Spectacular colors on the hike

I returned to Falls Creek in the Front on the first day of Fall, hoping to see autumnal colors, and I wasn't disappointed.
Besides the colors, what made this trip special was the off-trail hiking near the water's edge that revealed so much more of what this roadless area and major tributary of the Dearborn River has to offer.
We hiked in a deep canyon, occasionally scrambling to high points where it narrowed and saw deep, emerald pools of water that certainly must be filled with fish.  There were open slopes of Yellowstone-like yellowish rock in some spots, and areas of red and green shale that evoked Glacier Park.  We got up close to two major waterfalls, and then climbed to the canyon rim when it narrowed too much to follow the river bank.
While we saw stands of golden and red/orange tinged aspen, there were other trees that Jack Frost hadn't touched yet.
After enjoying lunch at the upper big falls we headed uphill, looking for a high trail above the Forest Service Falls Creek trail and located it.  We figure it is probably an outfitter's trail.
Since Falls Creek access was reopened a couple of weeks ago, we could see that the area is getting good visitation.  We saw a half dozen other cars in the lot and were passed by a couple of guys on horses.
We figure that this area is ripe for hunters who haven't been in here the last 14 years.