Parking
Start at the Clarks Fork Trailhead near the Clarks Fork Picnic Area on US 212, about 4 miles east of Cooke City. The picnic area has open parking and two tables; it is a day-use access.
Overview
About Mariane Lake Trail
Why go
- Remote alpine lake with a rocky shoreline and brook trout.
- Campsites make a multi-day visit possible.
Heads up
- About 16.6 miles round trip from the highway access.
- High elevation and a potentially wet early-season crossing.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full mapElevation7,972–9,590 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 Mariane 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
- Cooke City: Museum and Historic Store
- 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 Mariane Lake Trail
The full outingMariane Lake Trail is a long out-and-back from the Clarks Fork access to a high alpine lake.
Mariane Lake Trail is a long out-and-back from the Clarks Fork access to a high alpine lake. Treat the 8.3 trail miles from Clarks Fork to the lake as one way: returning the same route makes about 16.6 miles. The approach climbs about 1,900 feet and drops 300 feet before the lake, so expect a full day at altitude; camping is a sensible way to avoid rushing the return.
From Clarks Fork to Kersey LakeStart near the Clarks Fork Picnic Area on US 212.
Start near the Clarks Fork Picnic Area on US 212. The route crosses the Clarks Fork by bridge above a narrow canyon, then shares the Beaten Path approach before turning toward Kersey Lake. The stream leaving Kersey can run high and the tread can be muddy early in the season. After Kersey, keep toward Russell Lake; trail numbers differ across maps here, so use the lake as your landmark and check the current local map.
The eastbound branchAt Russell Lake, the route turns east on Mariane Lake Trail 570.
At Russell Lake, the route turns east on Mariane Lake Trail #570. The mapped path reaches Mariane Lake's rocky shore. Don't mistake this last branch for the whole hike: the long approach from the highway is part of this outing.
At Mariane LakeAt 9,545 feet, Mariane Lake is a 50.8-acre alpine lake with brook trout.
At 9,545 feet, Mariane Lake is a 50.8-acre alpine lake with brook trout. Campsites are available, and use is heavy, so expect other hikers and campers around the water. There are no facilities documented at the lake; plan this as a backcountry destination.
A shorter nearby walkIf 16.
If 16.6 miles is too much, Kersey Lake is a much shorter option from the same access, about 3 miles round trip with less than 200 feet of gain. It gives you the river and an alpine lake without the long climb and return to Mariane.
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.
