Best time to go
The campground typically operates from late June into early or mid-September. Snow and ice can linger into summer and return early at this elevation, so the Beartooth Highway's seasonal conditions shape the visit.
Overview
About Island Lake
Why stop
- A direct launch makes this more than a quick highway view.
Heads up
- A short high-country season limits when the access is usable.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
1 active Beartooth Highway alert
- ClosureBeartooth Highway seasonal closure and falling-rock advisoryBeartooth Highway (US-212) is closed for the season between Cooke City and Red Lodge; do not plan to travel the highway as a through route.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Beartooth Highway Tour Guide
Your drive to Island Lake, narrated.
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
Island Lake0:00 / 0:29
“Island Lake's access road is ahead, leading to a shore you can enjoy without committing to a hike. The lake holds brook trout, and there's a boat ramp as well as fishing from shore.”
Plays as you drive up to Island Lake in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Top of the World Store
- The Songbird That Dives
- Hauser Lake Trailhead
- Beartooth Lake
- 62 audio storiesacross Beartooth Highway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Gray Wolf, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 82 trails, 36 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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
More about Island Lake
A lake stop on Beartooth HighwayIsland Lake is a 146-acre alpine lake at 9,518 feet on the Beartooth Plateau.
Island Lake is a 146-acre alpine lake at 9,518 feet on the Beartooth Plateau. A short spur north from US 212 reaches its shore and boat-launch access. It's worth a proper stop: get down to the water, fish or launch a boat, then keep going into the high lakes if you've planned a longer day.
Get on the water or head farther inA boat ramp serves the lake, and fishing is available from shore or boat.
A boat ramp serves the lake, and fishing is available from shore or boat. Nearby trail access leads to other high-country lakes. One 7.5-mile round trip visits Night, Flake, Mutt, Jeff and Becker lakes; an 8.5-mile route continues one way to Beartooth Lake. These are substantial hikes, so treat Island Lake as a trail starting point as well as a roadside destination.
Keep the campground separateIsland Lake Campground is the separate overnight facility beside the lake.
Island Lake Campground is the separate overnight facility beside the lake. It has 21 first-come, first-served sites, vault toilets, potable water and picnic tables. Those are campground amenities; don't assume overnight fees or facilities apply to the day-use lake stop.
Catch the mountain reflectionFor a photo, work from the shore or launch area and leave water across the lower part of the…
For a photo, work from the shore or launch area and leave water across the lower part of the frame. The lake reflects the forested edge and snow-patched Beartooth peaks when the surface is calm, giving the mountains more scale than a tight shot of the ridgeline.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Beartooth Highway
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.
