Parking
Turn into the signed Clarks Fork Trailhead from US 212; this is the Clarks Fork end of the Beaten Path.
Overview
About Kersey Lake Trail
Why go
- A short, gentle walk to a high-country lake
- River and lake fishing on one outing
Heads up
- The rougher lake approach includes an outlet crossing that can flood early
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full mapElevation7,972–8,107 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Kersey 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
- Fox Creek Campground
- 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 Kersey Lake Trail
A short lake walk on a long trailThis easy 3-mile out-and-back follows the final 1.
This easy 3-mile out-and-back follows the final 1.5 miles of the Beaten Path from Clarks Fork Trailhead to Kersey Lake, then retraces the same route. It is a good choice for a quick high-country lake stop without taking on the full 26-mile through-route. Allow about 1 to 1½ hours; the grade is gentle, with less than 200 feet of gain.
Follow the route to the lakeStart at the signed Clarks Fork Trailhead on US 212 and follow the trail toward Kersey Lake.
Start at the signed Clarks Fork Trailhead on US 212 and follow the trail toward Kersey Lake. The through-route continues beyond the lake, so this is not a loop: turn around at Kersey Lake. The walk crosses the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River; at about half a mile, a wider, calmer reach before the rapids makes a natural fishing pause.
The lake approachThe tread gets rougher near the lake, and its outlet stream can flood across the trail early in…
The tread gets rougher near the lake, and its outlet stream can flood across the trail early in the season. Logs are used to get across, but high water can make this short walk awkward. Kersey Lake itself is muddy, with trout sometimes visible rising on the surface. From the shore, include the steep rock walls around the lake to give the view its scale.
Forest recovering from firePart of the approach crosses ground burned in 1988.
Part of the approach crosses ground burned in 1988. The forest is recovering, so this stretch opens up before regrowth closes it in again. US 212 is generally open from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, weather permitting; the trailhead's road access follows that seasonal window.
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.
