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Lake Reno Trail in Beartooth Highway

Beartooth Highway, MT · WY

Lake Reno Trail

A long wilderness climb reaches Lake Reno

Length
10.2mi
Time
7hr
Elev. change
1,407ft
Difficulty
Challenging
  • High point 8,350 ft
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Crazy Creek Falls

Overview

About Lake Reno Trail

Why go

  • Reaches Lake Reno through Absaroka–Beartooth Wilderness
  • Follows Crazy Creek Trail #568 to the Lake Reno spur
  • Crazy Creek Falls is close to the mapped start

Heads up

  • Long, steep outing at high elevation
  • Day-use parking and the exact trailhead are unconfirmed
  • Nearby campground has a short seasonal operating window
This is a 10.2-mile out-and-back to Lake Reno from the Crazy Creek side. Allow 6–8 hours for the long approach and return. The route combines Crazy Creek Trail #568 with the final 0.46-mile Lake Reno Trail #622 spur, making it a strenuous high-country wilderness outing rather than a short lake-side walk.
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Map & elevation

The route

Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full map
Elevation6,942–8,350 ft
TrailheadCrazy Creek Trail #568 near Crazy Creek Campground44.94299, -109.77378
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Crazy Creek Campground is the nearest named access point found, about 0.1 mile from the mapped trail line. The Forest Service lists the campground as first-come, first-served and typically open from late May through early or mid-September, but does not confirm day-use parking or identify it as the Lake Reno trailhead. Confirm access and parking locally.

Best time to go

The mapped route starts near Crazy Creek Campground, but the campground is about 0.1 mile from the trail line and the sources do not confirm a formal Lake Reno trailhead or day-use parking. The campground is typically open from late May through early or mid-September; check current access and local signs before setting out. The road approach is WY-296, so do not assume Beartooth Highway conditions describe this access.

Safety

This is a high-elevation wilderness outing. Elevation samples show about 1,500 feet of climbing on the outbound line, with the return retracing the route. The Forest Service advises carrying bear spray in Greater Yellowstone bear country. Confirm road and trail access before setting out; the nearby campground is seasonal.

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
Beartooth Highway alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Beartooth Highway Tour Guide

Your drive to Lake Reno 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.

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Recorded for this trailhead

Crazy Creek Falls
0:00 / 0:32
“Crazy Creek Falls is coming up, a good short break if you'd like to stretch your legs beside a waterfall. Look for the unsigned pullout almost opposite the campground entrance.”

Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Streams That Meet Again
  • Seeds Sealed for a Fire
  • Lake Creek Falls and the Old Bridge
  • 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
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Trail guide

Hiking Lake Reno Trail

Route and effortThe mapped line follows about 5.

The mapped line follows about 5.09 miles one way on the Forest Service trail corridors, from a point near Crazy Creek Campground to Lake Reno’s shore. Elevation samples put the outbound climb at roughly 1,500 feet, from about 6,940 feet to a high point near 8,350 feet; the lake sits around 8,290 feet. The final Lake Reno spur has native-material tread and typical 12–20% grades. The return retraces the route. Crazy Creek Falls is close to the route’s starting area.

High-country safetyThe route reaches more than 8,000 feet and enters bear country.

The route reaches more than 8,000 feet and enters bear country. Leave time and energy for the return, check current conditions, and carry bear spray.

lakewildernesshigh elevationlong distancesteep climbmountainwaterfall

Wildlife

Wildlife in Beartooth Highway

All Beartooth Highway wildlife maps
Grizzly Bear42 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapGray Wolf22 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapBison49 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMoose122 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapMountain Goat260 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapBighorn Sheep16 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Beartooth Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Lake Reno Trail

See it all on the map

Trails that start nearby

EasyCrazy Creek Falls Trail0.2 mi · 15 min · At the trailheadA quick walk to a cascade that changes with the season.ChallengingCrazy Creek Trail #56811 mi · 7.5 hr · At the trailheadA long climb from US 212 into Beartooth lake country.ChallengingPilot Creek Trail12.5 mi · 7 hr · 2 mi awayA long creekside climb to falls, crags, and a grassy meadow.ModerateLost Lake Trail #6174.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayA steep climb through high country ends beside a lake.ModerateBig Moose Lake Trail6 mi · 4 hr · 2.7 mi awayA high-country lake at the end of a three-mile mountain trail.ModerateClay Butte Trail #6143 mi · 1.8 hr · 6.9 mi awayOpen meadow, high-country creeks and a junction with Trail #620.ModerateGranite Lake Trail via Clay Butte10 mi · 6.5 hr · 6.9 mi awayA 10-mile out-and-back to a 228-acre high-country lake.ChallengingHigh Beartooths Lakes Loop22 mi · 12 hr · 6.9 mi awayA full-day circuit linking alpine lakes above 8,700 feet.

Places near the trailhead

Campground · 0.1 mi awayCrazy Creek CampgroundA 16-site campground on a bluff above its namesake creek.Sight · 0.1 mi awayCrazy Creek FallsA short walk reaches a broad cascade beside the Beartooth Highway.Campground · 2.9 mi awayLily Lake CampgroundA simple lakeside camp reached by a one-mile gravel spur.Sight · 3.6 mi awayLake Creek FallsA short bridge walk reaches a waterfall in a granite gorge.Campground · 3.7 mi awayFox Creek CampgroundSleep under conifers with Pilot and Index Peaks in view.Scenic pullout · 4.1 mi awayClarks Fork OverlookA roadside view where the valley's geology comes into focus.Scenic pullout · 6.6 mi awayPilot and Index Peaks OverlookTwo sharp peaks crown the Clark’s Fork valley view.Picnic area · 7 mi awayClarks Fork Picnic AreaA riverside pause with a little highway and flume history.

Parkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking

Top-rated trails in Beartooth Highway

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  2. 2Beartooth Lakes LoopModerate · 7.8 mi
  3. 3Becker and Albino Lakes TrailModerate · 12.2 mi
  4. 4Beartooth Loop National Recreation TrailChallenging · 10.9 mi
  5. 5The Beaten PathChallenging · 26 mi
  6. 6Gardner Lake TrailModerate · 1.6 mi

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