#8 of 18 sights in Beartooth Highway
Sight · Beartooth Highway
A short bridge walk reaches a waterfall in a granite gorge.
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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
Lake Creek Falls and the Old Bridge“Lake Creek Falls is ahead, with a short walk to an old bridge directly above the cascade. Park at a pullout near either end of the modern highway crossing, then follow the north-side path for about two hundred yards.”
Plays as you drive up to Lake Creek Falls in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
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Guide
Lake Creek Falls is a waterfall on Lake Creek along the Beartooth Highway, where water drops through a narrow gorge beneath an older pedestrian bridge. It makes a worthwhile short detour for a close look at the cascade and a piece of the highway’s early history.
Park at a pullout near either end of the modern highway crossing, then follow the path on the north side for about 200 yards to the old bridge. The short walk leads to the defining view, with the falls directly below the crossing.
From the bridge, watch the water pass beneath the crossing and tumble through the tight rock channel. For a photo, include some of the bridge with the falling water so the frame shows both the viewpoint and the gorge. Early June is generally the high-runoff period, though the flow varies from year to year.
The pedestrian bridge was built around 1932 and bypassed in 1974 when the present highway bridge was built downstream. It is one of five surviving bridges from the original Beartooth Highway construction. The bridge’s hand-chiseled abutments are attributed to the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The narrow gorge is cut through Precambrian granite. The cascade squeezes between steep rock walls, making this a close-up look at the bedrock as well as a waterfall stop.
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
ModerateLost Lake Trail #6174.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA steep climb through high country ends beside a lake.
EasyCrazy Creek Falls Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · 3.5 mi awayA quick walk to a cascade that changes with the season.
ChallengingCrazy Creek Trail #56811 mi · 7.5 hr · 3.5 mi awayA long climb from US 212 into Beartooth lake country.
ChallengingLake Reno Trail10.2 mi · 7 hr · 3.6 mi awayA long wilderness climb reaches Lake Reno
ModerateClay Butte Trail #6143 mi · 1.8 hr · 3.8 mi awayOpen meadow, high-country creeks and a junction with Trail #620.
ModerateGranite Lake Trail via Clay Butte10 mi · 6.5 hr · 3.8 mi awayA 10-mile out-and-back to a 228-acre high-country lake.
ChallengingHigh Beartooths Lakes Loop22 mi · 12 hr · 3.8 mi awayA full-day circuit linking alpine lakes above 8,700 feet.
ModerateBig Moose Lake Trail6 mi · 4 hr · 4.4 mi awayA high-country lake at the end of a three-mile mountain trail.
Scenic pullout · 0.6 mi awayClarks Fork OverlookA roadside view where the valley's geology comes into focus.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayLily Lake CampgroundA simple lakeside camp reached by a one-mile gravel spur.
Scenic pullout · 3.2 mi awayPilot and Index Peaks OverlookTwo sharp peaks crown the Clark’s Fork valley view.
Campground · 3.6 mi awayCrazy Creek CampgroundA 16-site campground on a bluff above its namesake creek.
Sight · 3.6 mi awayCrazy Creek FallsA short walk reaches a broad cascade beside the Beartooth Highway.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayClay Butte LookoutA historic fire tower with a 360-degree Beartooth panorama.
Sight · 4.9 mi awayBeartooth FallsA quick roadside look at the Beartooth Highway waterfallParkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
