Beartooth Loop National Recreation Trail

From a roadside pullout near Gardner Headwall on Wyoming Highway 212, this mapped 10.9-mile lollipop route drops to Gardner Lake, follows Little Rock Creek toward the southern junction, then turns through the Dollar Lake and Stockade Lake trail segments and the Hauser Lake connector before returning to the same pullout. It includes a 7.9-mile circuit plus a shared 1.5-mile approach each way. Plan on five to seven hours; 5.5 hours is a reasonable target if you keep stops short. This is the Gardner-start line saved here. Other access points and extensions make the trail network's mileage vary, so the shorter general totals and longer Hauser/Tibbs Butte itineraries describe different routes. The payoff is a full day in the alpine basins; the price is a hard climb back to the road.

You begin near 10,500 feet and lose elevation quickly on the descent to Gardner Lake, about three-quarters of a mile down. The lake sits beneath a steep rocky cirque, with the Gardner Headwall rising above it. The outlet is a stream crossing, and the trail briefly leaves and rejoins Little Rock Creek before the circuit settles into rolling high-country terrain. The first downhill is not a free warm-up: save enough energy for the return climb to the highway, which feels harder at this altitude.

The loop links open meadows, creek corridors and several lake basins rather than climbing steadily to one summit. The landscape changes from the rocky headwall and Gardner Lake to broad alpine slopes and views along Little Rock Creek toward the peaks above Beartooth Pass. A high saddle between the lake basins gives the route its most expansive look across the Beartooth and Absaroka ranges. At Stockade Lake, stay on the mapped main route; a faint western-shore line is an alternate with extra short climbs and drops, not part of this stored circuit.

Beartooth Loop was designated a National Recreation Trail in 1979 and crosses alpine and subalpine country. The network has several highway access points, so hikers can make a shuttle, a shorter out-and-back, or a longer lollipop route. This record uses the full Gardner-start circuit, including the shared approach to and from the loop; it does not include the separate longer Hauser and Tibbs Butte extension. If you see a different distance on a map, check the start and turnaround before comparing it with this 10.9-mile line.

The 8,900-to-10,500-foot elevation range, 10.9-mile distance and steep return make this a hard day hike, not a casual lake walk. Tread quality changes, some junctions are faint, and trail signs have been reported missing or hard to follow, especially around the Dollar Lake branch. Carry an offline map and GPS or compass, and check the route at junctions rather than following the widest-looking track. Stream crossings occur along the route. This is grizzly country; carry bear spray and know how to use it. Marmots, mule deer and raptors are among the wildlife reported in the area, but sightings are never guaranteed.