Parking
Start at Nine Mile Trailhead (5K5), on Yellowstone Lake’s east side. The park lists an information kiosk but does not describe parking capacity or confirm toilets or water.
Overview
About Turbid Lake Trail
Why go
- A distinct old-road walk ends at Turbid Lake.
Heads up
- A 10-mile-plus outing with conflicting published distances.
- Overgrowth and sparse signs are reported along the route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,858–8,294 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 area
Trout Eggs on the Train0:00 / 0:33
“Yellowstone once sent trout eggs out by train.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lake Butte Overlook
- Sedge Bay Picnic Area
- A Fingerprint in Volcanic Glass
- The Lake’s Twice-Yearly Mixing
- 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 Turbid Lake Trail
The walkThis is a backcountry out-and-back from Nine Mile Trailhead (5K5) to Turbid Lake, following an…
This is a backcountry out-and-back from Nine Mile Trailhead (5K5) to Turbid Lake, following an old road through forest. The mapped route is about 5.1 miles each way, or 10.2 miles round trip; allow about five hours. The park’s trailhead listing says 6 miles round trip, so the published distance conflicts with the mapped corridor. Plan for 10.2 miles. The route here turns around at the lake; a longer itinerary continues north to the Pelican Creek–Pelican Valley junction.
Route finding and effortThis is a long walk on an old road rather than a short lake-side stroll.
This is a long walk on an old road rather than a short lake-side stroll. A route description reports overgrowth and poor signs, so download an offline map and be ready to navigate. The route profile climbs and dips through the forest before reaching the lake; the saved line does not include the farther northern extension.
Access and backcountry rulesStart at Nine Mile Trailhead on Yellowstone Lake’s east side.
Start at Nine Mile Trailhead on Yellowstone Lake’s east side. The park lists an information kiosk there, but the sources checked do not confirm lot size, toilets, water or food. Backcountry rules require groups of at least three, kept together; hikers must carry a map, know their route and avoid hiking after dark. Pets are not allowed. Check current backcountry conditions 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.
