Parking
Use the Elephant Back roadside pullout on Grand Loop Road, about a mile south of Fishing Bridge Junction and north of Lake Village. The trail begins after a short walk beside the road; that access is included in the mapped distance.
Overview
About Elephant Back Mountain Trail
Elephant Back Mountain Trail is a roughly 3.9-mile lollipop loop from a roadside pullout north of Lake Village, climbing through lodgepole pine to a broad Yellowstone Lake overlook. The mapped route includes the short road-edge connection and the lower approach on the way back; NPS lists it as 3.5 miles. Plan about two to three hours. The view is the payoff for a long, mostly wooded climb.
Why go
- Broad Yellowstone Lake panorama
- Upper loop adds variety before the return
Heads up
- Long wooded climb before the main view
- Rocky switchbacks near the top
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,867–8,629 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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
Elephant Back Mountain Trailhead0:00 / 0:24
“Up ahead is the Elephant Back Mountain trailhead, for a forest climb to a broad view over Yellowstone Lake. Allow two to three hours, with about eight hundred feet of steady climbing and rocky switchbacks near the top.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Duckling’s First Jump
- Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Lake Village
- A Lake’s History in Glass
- Fishing Bridge and Trailside Museum
- 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 Elephant Back Mountain Trail
The climbFrom the pullout, follow the short access beside Grand Loop Road to the path, then keep…
From the pullout, follow the short access beside Grand Loop Road to the path, then keep climbing through dense lodgepole pine. NPS describes about 800 feet of ascent over roughly 1.5 miles. It is a sustained uphill, with rocky footing and switchbacks near the upper trail. Expect only brief lake glimpses through the trees before the overlook.
Choosing the upper loopAfter about 0.8 mile, the trail divides.
After about 0.8 mile, the trail divides. NPS says the left fork is the shortest way to the top; the branches meet again near the overlook before you return by the lower approach. Walkers describe the two arms differently, so don't count on one being the gentler climb. Notice the junction so you can follow the same approach back to the pullout.
At the lake overlookThe trees open onto Yellowstone Lake, with Lake Village, Fishing Bridge and mountains along the…
The trees open onto Yellowstone Lake, with Lake Village, Fishing Bridge and mountains along the eastern shore in view. On a clear day, the Tetons may appear on the far horizon. Give yourself a few minutes here: most of the route is under trees, and this is the main open view. For a photo with depth, frame the water through a few lodgepole branches or include the rocky foreground.
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.
