Parking
Use Heart Lake Trailhead (8N1), the road-end access. Walk 7.2 miles on Heart Lake Trail to the north shore, where Trail Creek begins.
Overview
About Trail Creek Trail
Why go
- Connects Heart Lake with the far southeastern Thorofare country.
Heads up
- The start is 7.2 miles beyond the road access.
- The far end has no road; you need a larger backcountry itinerary.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,461–8,038 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 tourMore stories near here in the app
- Heart Lake and Lewis River Channel
- The Trout People Put Here
- The Blue Comes from the Water
- 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 Trail Creek Trail
A one-way backcountry connectionTrail Creek Trail is a 21.
Trail Creek Trail is a 21.7-mile point-to-point route from Heart Lake’s north shore to the Thorofare Trail junction in Yellowstone’s southeast backcountry. It is a connector for people building a longer trip, not a roadside day hike. Allow about 12 hours for the Trail Creek leg itself; the road approach is a separate commitment.
Valleys into river countryFrom the north shore, the line heads east through two narrow valleys, then crosses flatter,…
From the north shore, the line heads east through two narrow valleys, then crosses flatter, marshy ground toward the Yellowstone River valley before meeting the Thorofare Trail. The rocky Heart Lake shore gives the route its clearest view of Mount Sheridan; keep some water and shoreline in the foreground for a sense of scale. Published route descriptions say little about footing, crossings, or how well the tread is marked, so plan for a remote backcountry route and check current conditions before relying on a continuous path.
Plan the approach and exitThe Trail Creek start is another 7.
The Trail Creek start is another 7.2 miles on foot from the road-access Heart Lake Trailhead (8N1), along the separate Heart Lake Trail. The far end joins another backcountry route rather than a road, so plan Trail Creek as one leg of a longer itinerary with a clear exit. Overnight stays require a Yellowstone backcountry permit year-round. Pets are not allowed in the backcountry except qualified service animals. The road-access trailhead has a vault toilet and information kiosk; no facilities were confirmed on Trail Creek itself.
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.
