Beartooth Highway, MT · WY
A gentle walk through pine woods and meadows between two campgrounds.
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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Rock Creek Campgrounds and Greenough Lake“You're approaching the Rock Creek campgrounds and the access to Greenough Lake. The campsites sit among pine and aspen beside the creek, a pleasant base if you want to stay overnight below the high country.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More 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
Parkside Trail #103 is a 2.3-mile point-to-point walk between Parkside Campground and M-K Campground through pine forest and open meadows in Rock Creek Canyon. The Forest Service lists about 200 feet of elevation change, so this is a short crossing rather than a long climb. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours on foot. Because the trail ends at a different campground, arrange a pickup at M-K or retrace the path for about 4.6 miles total.
Greenough Lake is about 1.25 miles from Parkside and gives you another way onto the route. The short walk between Greenough Campground and the lake is a separate connector, not the full Parkside Trail. Parking at the back of Greenough Lake Campground is limited.
Expect a natural, unpaved trail alternating between pine cover and open meadow, with a few short rises and drops. The route is also open to mountain bikers, horseback riders, and cross-country skiers, so look ahead on bends and give other users room.
The main access is at Parkside Campground near its group sites, off Main Fork Road (Forest Road 2421). M-K Campground is the other end. This corridor is bear country; keep food and scented items secured at camp and follow Forest Service bear-safety guidance.
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
EasyGreenough Lake Trail #103.10.4 mi · 20 min · 0.7 mi awayA quick, gentle walk to a Beartooth lake.
ChallengingSundance Pass Traverse20.5 mi · 11 hr · 1.3 mi awayA full day over Sundance Pass, from lakes to wild creek.
ChallengingLake Fork Trail #2 to Sundance Pass19 mi · 12 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long creekside climb from lakes to a high alpine pass
ChallengingBlack Canyon Lake Trail13.3 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long wilderness hike to a turquoise lake and glacier views
ModerateLost Lake Trail (Lake Fork)10.6 mi · 6 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long creekside out-and-back to a high lake beneath Peak 10,913.
ChallengingKeyser Brown Lake Trail13.2 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long creekside walk to a high, quiet alpine lake.ModerateBroadwater Lake via Lake Fork Trail7.5 mi · 4 hr · 1.3 mi awayA creekside ramble ends in Broadwater's open mountain meadows.
EasyLower Lake Fork Trail #2A2 mi · 1.3 hr · 1.8 mi awayA creekside link to Lake Fork's longer high-country hikes.
Campground · 0.1 mi awayParkside CampgroundCreekside camping near the foot of the Beartooth switchbacks.
Campground · 0.4 mi awayLimber Pine CampgroundA quiet creekside base below the Beartooth switchbacks.
Campground · 0.5 mi awayGreenough Lake CampgroundCreekside camping, with Greenough Lake a short walk away.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayRock Creek Vista PointA short paved path opens onto a huge glacial valley.
Campground · 2 mi awayM-K CampgroundA free creekside campground near Beartooth Highway hikes.
Scenic pullout · 2.3 mi awayQuad Creek Scenic OverlookThe highway curls below you across a wide mountain valley.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayMontana-Wyoming State Line SignA quick state-line sign stop on the seasonal Beartooth Highway.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayBeartooth Highway Welcome SignA quick welcome photo before the high-country drive.Parkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
