Parking
Hellroaring Trailhead is about a quarter mile off Grand Loop Road, with parking at the trailhead. From there, follow Hellroaring Creek Trail for about 1.5 miles, then Buffalo Plateau Trail for 0.5 mile to reach the Coyote Creek branch.
Overview
About Coyote Creek Trail
Why go
- Open meadows with views toward Bull Mountain
- A creekside stretch through Yellowstone’s northern backcountry
Heads up
- About two miles of approach before Coyote Creek Trail begins
- A long return on the same route with no road pickup at the boundary
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation5,945–7,487 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Yellowstone alerts
- ClosureBiscuit Basin closed after hydrothermal explosionBiscuit Basin’s parking lot, boardwalk, and Firehole River are closed to all travel.Official details
- ClosureMost Yellowstone roads close to regular vehicles November 1Most Yellowstone roads and the West, South, and East entrances are scheduled to close to regular vehicles November 1, 2026, as the park prepares for winter operations.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Hear Yellowstone as you drive it.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. 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 Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Hellroaring Trailhead0:00 / 0:25
“You're nearing Hellroaring Trailhead, where a steep walk leads to a suspension bridge over a narrow Yellowstone River canyon.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Clean Sheets at Uncle John’s
- A Bison’s Second Chew
- Four Feet in One Bound
- The Drum Hidden in the Woods
- 243 audio storiesacross Yellowstone’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 167 trails, 192 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Trail guide
Hiking Coyote Creek Trail
Route and distanceCoyote Creek Trail is a remote Yellowstone out-and-back from Hellroaring Trailhead to the…
Coyote Creek Trail is a remote Yellowstone out-and-back from Hellroaring Trailhead to the northern park boundary. Plan for about 14.3 miles round trip, including the approach: roughly 1.5 miles on Hellroaring Creek Trail, 0.5 miles on Buffalo Plateau Trail, then about 5.1 miles along Coyote Creek to the boundary and back. Published descriptions give the Coyote section as 3.9 miles one way, shorter than the connected mapped corridor used here; allow for the longer distance. There is no road access at the far end; set aside most of a day, turn around at the boundary, and retrace the full route.
Climb and preparationThe route first drops from Hellroaring Trailhead toward creek level, then climbs through open…
The route first drops from Hellroaring Trailhead toward creek level, then climbs through open country toward the boundary. The elevation profile suggests about 1,550 feet of cumulative climbing on the one-way line, including that early descent. The Hellroaring approach has limited shade. Carry enough water and bear spray for a full backcountry day; pets are not allowed on the trail.
Meadows and the boundaryThe trail crosses open meadows with views toward Bull Mountain, then follows Coyote Creek up…
The trail crosses open meadows with views toward Bull Mountain, then follows Coyote Creek up the western shoulder of Buffalo Plateau. At the northern boundary, the corridor continues onto Custer Gallatin National Forest toward Telephone Basin; that out-of-park section is not included here. Check current trail and backcountry notices before setting out.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yellowstone
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
