Grasshopper Glacier Trail

This is a high-alpine out-and-back from the Absaroka–Beartooth Wilderness boundary to the first rock ridge below Iceberg Peak. The mapped route is about 5.8 miles round trip (2.9 miles each way); allow around six hours for the climb and careful travel above 10,000 feet. The route follows an old road past upper Goose Lake, then continues northeast toward the saddle and a north-facing view of the Grasshopper Glacier basin. It ends at the viewing ridge, not at the ice.

Distance descriptions differ: some directions say about four miles from the boundary to the glacier, while the named mapped line reaches the first viewing ridge in about 2.8 miles. This entry represents that shorter mapped viewpoint walk; it does not include an unverified continuation to the ice margin.

From US 212, turn north about two miles east of Cooke City near Colter Campground onto Lulu Pass–Goose Lake Road #6493, and continue to the Absaroka–Beartooth Wilderness boundary. The road is extremely rough and requires a high-clearance 4x4; it is generally passable only in dry late summer, around late July and August. Check current road conditions before driving in. The start is the primitive road end, not a developed trailhead lot, and there are no services listed there. Motorized travel ends at the Wilderness boundary. Dogs are allowed under control; pack out waste.

Walk the old road to the upper end of Goose Lake, then head northeast toward the saddle between Sawtooth Mountain and Iceberg Peak. At the saddle, a snowfield can look like the glacier. Continue to the crest of the first rock ridge: the intended view is Grasshopper Glacier on Iceberg Peak’s north side, above the lake basin. The mapped route stops at this ridge; the ice itself is not included on the mapped route.

This is a demanding backcountry walk despite the moderate mileage. The route rises from roughly 9,800 feet to about 10,645 feet, with around 920 feet of mapped climbing. The upper approach is described as partly off trail over boulders, and the high exposed terrain can bring strong sun, wind and fast weather changes. Give the rocky final stretch time, and do not mistake the saddle snowfield for a route to the ice.

The glacier’s name comes from grasshoppers found embedded in its ice. In 1914, officials sent specimens exposed by melting ice for identification; entomologists recognized them as Rocky Mountain locusts, a species then believed to have been extinct for about two centuries. The proposed explanation is that a swarm was caught in a storm or cold high on the range, then buried by snow and ice. It is an explanation for the find, not a story hikers can expect to repeat today.

The Beartooths were shaped by repeated glacial advances, which carved cirques and left lakes among the high ridges. An older estimate recorded Grasshopper Glacier losing about half its area and up to 90 percent of its volume between 1898 and 1981. A recent reading of 2025 satellite imagery suggests almost no perennial ice remains, though current late-summer extent has not been independently surveyed. Take the hike for the whole alpine basin and its history; do not count on seeing a large glacier.