Yellowstone National Park, WY · MT · ID
A lonely climb to Chaw Pass and the Cache Creek backcountry.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
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 area
A Seafloor in the Limestone“The limestone around Pebble Creek has a story that starts in a shallow sea. Some layers contain fossils of brachiopods, shelled animals that lived on the seafloor hundreds of millions of years ago.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Thunderer Cutoff is a 9.8-mile out-and-back to Cache Creek and back, usually a 5.5–7.5-hour day. From the road-side Thunderer Trailhead, the route crosses Soda Butte Creek, climbs to Chaw Pass, then descends into the upper Cache Creek country before returning the same way. It is rugged and poorly marked, with a substantial climb and little signage. If you want a shorter day, turning at Chaw Pass makes a 7.4-mile round trip.
The first quarter mile reaches Soda Butte Creek, which the route crosses on foot. Snowmelt can make the ford difficult in June and early July; check current conditions and do not cross if the water is unsafe. Beyond it, the trail climbs steadily through mature forest. The tread is not always obvious, so bring reliable navigation and know how to use it.
Chaw Pass is the saddle between The Thunderer and Amphitheater Mountain, reached after more than 1,700 feet of climbing. The ascent is forested, then the pass opens across country burned in the 1988 fires. Breaks in the trees and the saddle look toward The Thunderer and Amphitheater Valley. For a photo, keep part of the trail or the fallen logs in the foreground to show the scale of the valley beyond.
The full route continues over the pass and descends toward Cache Creek, then turns back to retrace the same path. That descent adds a climb on the return, so the Cache Creek version takes longer than the Chaw Pass turnaround. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats use the surrounding mountains; treat them as wildlife to watch from a distance, not a guaranteed sighting.
Start at the Thunderer Trailhead pullout on the south side of Northeast Entrance Road, just north of Pebble Creek Campground. From Northeast Entrance, the pullout is about 8.4 miles west. The similarly named Republic Pass Trailhead is a different, remote access point that is not reachable by road. Pets are not allowed on Yellowstone hiking trails or in the backcountry. This is bear country; carry bear spray and know how to use it.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ModerateTrout Lake Trail1.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.1 mi awayA steep climb leads to a still lake beneath rugged peaks.
ChallengingLamar River Trail33 mi · 18 hr · 5 mi awayA 33-mile out-and-back along Lamar River to Cold Creek.
ChallengingCache Creek Trail37.6 mi · 18 hr · 5 mi awayA long, strenuous push from Lamar Valley into high backcountry.
ChallengingPebble Creek Trail12 mi · 5.5 hr · 6.5 mi awayA strenuous traverse through Yellowstone’s high Pebble Creek valley.
ModerateSlough Creek Trail3.4 mi · 3 hr · 10.5 mi awayClimb an old wagon road, then follow the creek into open meadows.
ChallengingBliss Pass Trail20.5 mi · 12 hr · 10.5 mi awayA 20.5-mile pass traverse links Slough and Pebble Creek valleys.
ChallengingBuffalo Fork Trail6.4 mi · 5 hr · 12.2 mi awayA remote creek ford opens into sage slopes and burned forest.
ModerateBootjack Gap Trail4.6 mi · 4 hr · 13.3 mi awayA high-country climb to a remote pass on Yellowstone’s eastern edge.
Campground · 1 mi awayPebble Creek CampgroundA creekside base for the park's rugged northeast corner.
Picnic area · 1.1 mi awaySoda Butte Creek Picnic AreaA practical creekside spot for a picnic and leg stretch.
Sight · 4.1 mi awaySoda Butte ConeA quick roadside stop for a pale cone and valley views.
Picnic area · 6.5 mi awayWarm Creek Picnic AreaA shady table by Soda Butte Creek breaks up the northeast drive.
Sight · 8.5 mi awayLamar Valley Wildlife WatchingScan open grasslands for bison, wolves, and the northern range.Parkwolf’s Yellowstone ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
