Campground · Beartooth Highway
A lakefront base for fishing, boating and nearby high-country hikes.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Beartooth Highway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Beartooth Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Beartooth Highway audio tourRecorded for this place
Beartooth Lake“You're coming up on the turnoff for Beartooth Lake, a good place for a picnic or an easy lakeside break. A short gravel spur reaches the boat ramp and day-use shore, with Beartooth Butte rising across the water.”
Plays as you drive up to Beartooth Lake Campground in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Beartooth Lake Campground has 21 sites along Beartooth Lake on the Beartooth Highway. Its appeal is the lakeshore and nearby fishing, boating and hikes, with basic campground facilities.
Sites are first-come, first-served, with no reservations. The maximum spur length is 32 feet and the stay limit is 16 days, so check that your vehicle fits and keep some flexibility in your overnight plans.
The typical campground season runs from late June through early or mid-September. Beartooth Highway is weather-dependent, and snow can linger at high elevations into early or mid-July. Check current road and campground conditions when planning near either end of the season.
Boating, lake fishing, day hikes and backpacking are among the activities here, and other mountain lakes are nearby. Wildlife and scenery viewing are part of the appeal, and other mountain lakes nearby make a longer stay worthwhile.
From Cody, take State Highway 120 north for 16 miles, then State Highway 296, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, about 46 miles to US 212; turn right and continue about 8 miles to the campground. The Beartooth Highway was built between 1932 and 1936 and climbs to 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass.
Wildlife
42 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
22 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
49 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
122 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
260 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
16 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Beartooth Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateBeartooth Lakes Loop7.8 mi · 4 hr · 0.2 mi awayA six-lake loop over high ridges and wildflower meadows.
ModerateNative Lake Trail7.9 mi · 4 hr · 0.2 mi awayA high alpine lake reached after meadows and 1,300 feet of climbing.
ModerateBeauty Lake Trail #6214.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA steady high-country climb leads to a reflective lake.
ModerateClay Butte Trail #6143 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.2 mi awayOpen meadow, high-country creeks and a junction with Trail #620.
ModerateGranite Lake Trail via Clay Butte10 mi · 6.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA 10-mile out-and-back to a 228-acre high-country lake.
ChallengingHigh Beartooths Lakes Loop22 mi · 12 hr · 2.2 mi awayA full-day circuit linking alpine lakes above 8,700 feet.
ModerateIsland Lake to Beartooth Lake Trail5.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayFive alpine miles, ten lakes and a shuttle between trailheads.ModerateBeartooth High Lakes Trail8.9 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.4 mi awayNine miles of alpine lakes, granite benches and big plateau views
Sight · 0.2 mi awayBeartooth LakeLaunch, picnic, or take in Beartooth Butte across the lake.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayBeartooth FallsA quick roadside look at the Beartooth Highway waterfall
Store · 1.4 mi awayTop of the World Store and ResortA 9,400-foot store and lodge midway along the pass drive.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayClay Butte LookoutA historic fire tower with a 360-degree Beartooth panorama.Sight · 2.4 mi awayIsland LakeA high-country lake with boat access and hikes to nearby lakes.Campground · 2.6 mi awayIsland Lake CampgroundA simple high-country camp for lake views and nearby hikes.
Scenic pullout · 2.6 mi awayPilot and Index Peaks OverlookTwo sharp peaks crown the Clark’s Fork valley view.Parkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
