Parking
Use the Clarks Fork trailhead beside US 212; the walking route starts at the river bridge. Parking capacity and facilities were not confirmed.
Overview
About Fox Lake Trail
Why go
- A high-country trout lake with a defined destination at the end
Heads up
- A long return on foot from the highway
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full mapElevation7,976–8,297 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
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 Fox Lake Trail, 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 trailhead
Clarks Fork Picnic Area0:00 / 0:31
“You're coming up on Clarks Fork Picnic Area, a small riverside stop with two picnic tables. This is a good choice for a lunch break with a little more to see than the river.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Colter Campground
- Reading a Beaver Pond
- Soda Butte Campground
- Cooke City: Museum and Historic Store
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Fox Lake Trail
The full lake hikeFox Lake is a roughly 9-mile out-and-back from the Clarks Fork trailhead.
Fox Lake is a roughly 9-mile out-and-back from the Clarks Fork trailhead. The route follows the approach toward Kersey Lake, continues on Trail #567, then takes the Fox Lake branch to shore. Allow about five hours. The mileage counts both directions; the map line traces the way out once. The long distance and 8,000-foot altitude shape the effort more than a steep climb.
From river to lakeThe walk begins with a wooden bridge over the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River, then follows the…
The walk begins with a wooden bridge over the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River, then follows the canyon corridor toward Kersey Lake. A calmer, wider reach of water appears about half a mile along. Continue past the Kersey area on Trail #567; the Fox Lake branch leaves roughly a quarter-mile before the lake.
Fox LakeAt about 8,085 feet, Fox Lake covers 111 acres.
At about 8,085 feet, Fox Lake covers 111 acres. Brook and rainbow trout are common, while Arctic grayling are reported rarely. Small campsites are reported at the north end, where firewood can be difficult to find.
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.
