Parking
Start at Lake Abundance Trailhead: from US-212, take Daisy Pass Trail Road 4.3 miles, then Forest Road 3219 for 3.1 miles. High-clearance vehicles are advised. The route ends near Nye, so plan transportation at both ends.
Overview
About Stillwater Trail #24
Why go
- A continuous route follows the Stillwater drainage between two distinct access points.
- Landmark junctions and Sioux Charley Lake break up the long route.
Heads up
- At 26 miles one way, it needs serious pacing and end-to-end transport.
- The Lake Abundance access road calls for high-clearance vehicles.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Beartooth Highway map
Full mapElevation5,203–8,478 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Stillwater Trail #24, 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Before the Highway: Bannock Trail
- Turning Smoke into a Map Location
- Cooke City: Museum and Historic Store
- Soda Butte 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 Stillwater Trail #24
Plan for a through-hikeStillwater Trail 24 is a 26-mile, one-way route from Lake Abundance to the Stillwater Trailhead…
Stillwater Trail #24 is a 26-mile, one-way route from Lake Abundance to the Stillwater Trailhead near Nye, following the Stillwater River drainage through the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. It has about 3,000 feet of total elevation change. Allow roughly 14 hours on foot if you cross it in one push, or plan a backcountry trip; arrange transportation between the two remote trailheads before setting out.
Follow the drainage northFrom Lake Abundance, the named landmarks come in this order: Horseshoe Creek Trail 4 junction…
From Lake Abundance, the named landmarks come in this order: Horseshoe Creek Trail #4 junction at about 10 miles, West Stillwater Trail #90 near Wounded Man Creek at 15 miles, Tripod Hill around 20 miles, Flood Creek at 21 miles, and Sioux Charley Lake about 22.75 miles in. The route finishes near Nye at 26 miles. Those mileages are measured from Nye, so you meet them in reverse order from Lake Abundance.
If you want a shorter walkSioux Charley Lake is 3.25 miles from the Nye end, making a 6.5-mile out-and-back there.
Sioux Charley Lake is 3.25 miles from the Nye end, making a 6.5-mile out-and-back there. That is a useful smaller taste of Trail #24, but it starts at the opposite end and does not include the Lake Abundance section.
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.
