High Beartooths Lakes Loop

Start at Clay Butte Trailhead and go first to Granite Lake, then northwest to Lake Elaine and Farley. Continue through Kidney and Thiel before turning back to Clay Butte. The full line joins several numbered trails and short connectors; it is a linked route through a trail network rather than one numbered trail end to end. A short ford is mapped on the Granite Lake stretch, but current water levels and crossing conditions are unknown. Save the complete line offline and check it at junctions. Turning around at Granite or Elaine makes a different, shorter outing and does not complete this circuit. Expect repeated climbs and descents between basins, even though the route returns to its starting point.

Granite Lake covers about 228 acres at 8,781 feet and lies on the Montana-Wyoming line. From there the route climbs northwest into higher country toward Lake Elaine, at 9,391 feet. Elaine is 132 acres, with a recorded maximum depth of 156 feet and a self-sustaining brook trout population. The route passes large, rock-edged water, forest margins and open meadow stretches. Elaine is one of the documented backcountry camping places along the loop, so it can serve as a natural pause if you divide the hike into two days.

Farley Lake sits at 9,778 feet; Kidney reaches 9,899 feet, the highest of the named lakes on this circuit; Thiel is at 9,233 feet. The high middle section is where the altitude and accumulated distance become especially noticeable. At Farley, look for the small rocky islet in the blue water. After Kidney, the route drops toward Thiel and the return leg; a narrow boardwalk crosses meadow on the Thiel-to-Clay Butte stretch. Those lake basins and the boardwalk are useful landmarks when the route changes from one numbered trail to another.

Backcountry campsites are documented at Lake Elaine and Thiel Lake, making a slower lake-to-lake itinerary possible. Camping is a way to break up the distance, not a guarantee of developed services: no reliable information confirmed food, toilets or drinking water along this circuit. Carry what you need for the full route, including a way to treat water, and plan bear-safe food storage before leaving the trailhead. The trail connects several basins, so decide in advance which lake will be your stopping point and allow time to reach it.