Beartooth Highway, MT · WY
A remote cutthroat lake rewards a long wilderness approach.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Beartooth Highway Tour Guide
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 tourMore stories near here in the app
“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
This remote out-and-back follows Stillwater Trail #24 from Lake Abundance to Horseshoe Creek, then turns onto Trail #34 for Lake of the Woods. Plan for about 13 miles each way, 26 miles round trip, roughly 3,200 feet of cumulative climbing, and around 16 hours of walking. Most hikers should plan an overnight trip.
The high-elevation lake sits at about 8,784 feet and holds self-sustaining Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Campsites and firewood are reported at the lake. The surrounding basin includes open, burned slopes and mountain views; carry what you need for a remote backcountry stay.
From US 212, take Daisy Pass Trail Road north for 4.3 miles, then Forest Road 3219 west for 3.1 miles to Lake Abundance Trailhead. High-clearance vehicles are advised on the final road. Call the ranger district for current road conditions. One mapped portion of Trail #34 is marked as difficult to follow, so carry offline navigation and keep pets under control. The recorded line ends about 100 meters from the lake because the final short connection is not mapped.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ChallengingStillwater Trail #2426 mi · 14 hr · At the trailheadA 26-mile wilderness traverse links Lake Abundance with Nye.
ChallengingHorseshoe Lake via Lake Creek Trail20.4 mi · 12 hr · 0.1 mi awayA long backcountry route reaches a high Horseshoe Lake.
ChallengingLost Wolverine Trail #11311.7 mi · 7.5 hr · 3 mi awayA high-country traverse to Wolverine Pass through wildflower meadows.
ModerateHenderson Mountain Trail #5792.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA short, high-country walk above Cooke City.
ModerateBlack Warrior Trail #5781.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayA rough-track climb from Miller Creek Road to near Daisy Pass.
ChallengingGrasshopper Glacier Trail5.8 mi · 6 hr · 4.6 mi awayHigh-country ridge hike with alpine lakes and a 1914 locust mystery.
ModerateSheep Creek Basin Trail #5765.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 4.9 mi awayA high-country climb to a basin above 9,000 feet.
ChallengingLower Aero Lake Trail11.3 mi · 7.5 hr · 5.1 mi awayA long climb to an island-studded lake beneath sharp alpine peaks
Visitor center · 5.5 mi awayCooke City Visitor Center and MuseumNine touchscreens bring Cooke City's local history to life.
Store · 5.6 mi awayCooke City StoreA working mercantile still uses its hand-crank cash register.
Campground · 5.9 mi awaySoda Butte CampgroundA quiet, wooded base near Cooke City and Yellowstone’s northeast entrance.
Campground · 6.6 mi awayColter CampgroundA hard-sided-only campground two miles east of Cooke City.
Picnic area · 7.9 mi awayClarks Fork Picnic AreaA riverside pause with a little highway and flume history.Parkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
