MT · Northern Rockies
8 forest guides within driving distance
Custer Gallatin National Forest spans 3 million acres across southern Montana and northern Wyoming, encompassing the Beartooth Plateau, Crazy Mountains, and the highest summit in Montana: Granite Peak at 12,799 feet.
8 min read
Gallatin National Forest borders Yellowstone and encompasses the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in southern Montana, offering iconic alpine terrain and outstanding wildlife viewing.
5 min read
Bighorn National Forest encompasses 1,115,000 acres of the Bighorn Mountains in north-central Wyoming, rising from sagebrush plains to 13,175-foot Cloud Peak in a granite and limestone landscape of alpine lakes, meadows, and canyon walls.
7 min read
Lewis and Clark National Forest guards the Rocky Mountain Front and Little Belt Mountains of central Montana, offering dramatic prairie-to-peak transitions and the storied Front Range wilderness.
5 min read
Shoshone National Forest is the oldest national forest in the United States, established in 1891, covering 2.47 million acres in northwest Wyoming alongside Yellowstone and encompassing six wilderness areas including the vast Washakie Wilderness.
5 min read
Caribou-Targhee National Forest spans 3 million acres across eastern Idaho and western Wyoming, offering access to the west slope of the Tetons, the Jedediah Smith Wilderness, and some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the Intermountain West.
7 min read
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest spans 2.9 million acres in central Montana, surrounding the state capital and encompassing the Big Belt, Little Belt, and Elkhorn mountains with 800 miles of trails and three designated wilderness areas.
5 min read
Targhee National Forest covers the west slope of the Tetons and the Snake River Plain in Idaho and Wyoming, offering wilderness solitude, Jedediah Smith Wilderness hiking, and Yellowstone border access.
5 min read
Backpack the Beartooth High Route in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This strenuous 15-mile loop traverses the Beartooth Plateau with alpine lakes, summit views, and expansive alpine meadows.
3 min read
The Medicine Wheel Trail is a 3.0-mile out-and-back walk on a gated road to Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark on Medicine Mountain at 9,642 feet, one of the most significant pre-European cultural sites in North America.
3 min read
A gentle 6-mile out-and-back along the Stillwater River in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, offering easy riverside hiking through cottonwood and pine forest with world-class fly fishing access.
4 min read
The standard two-day approach to Granite Peak, Montana's highest summit at 12,799 feet, via Mystic Lake and Froze-to-Death Plateau in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.
5 min read
An 11-mile out-and-back to Mystic Lake in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, gaining 1,700 feet through forested canyon to reach a large alpine lake at the base of the Beartooth escarpment.
4 min read
A strenuous 12-mile out-and-back into the remote Lake Plateau of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, reaching a high-country basin filled with interconnected alpine lakes above 10,000 feet.
4 min read
An 8-mile loop around Beartooth Lake on the high plateau of Custer Gallatin National Forest, featuring sweeping alpine scenery, wildflower meadows, and access to the Beartooth Plateau above 9,000 feet.
4 min read
Hike to Mystic Lake in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This moderate-hard 6.2-mile out-and-back climbs above the Stillwater River valley to a scenic mountain lake with views.
3 min read
An 8-mile out-and-back along the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River through the Clarks Fork Canyon in Shoshone National Forest, offering moderate canyon hiking with dramatic volcanic cliffs and blue-ribbon river fishing.
3 min read
Hike to the Lake Plateau in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This strenuous 12-mile out-and-back climbs into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness to a plateau studded with alpine lakes and wildflowers.
3 min read
A 12-mile point-to-point traverse on the Wyoming side of the Beartooth Plateau in Shoshone National Forest, traveling above 9,000 feet through open alpine terrain with panoramic views and requiring a vehicle shuttle.
4 min read
A strenuous 8-mile out-and-back into the isolated Crazy Mountains of south-central Montana, climbing 3,000 feet through subalpine forest to open ridgelines with sweeping plains views.
4 min read
Climb Livingston Peak in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This strenuous 13.0-mile out-and-back is one of the most challenging summit hikes in the Absaroka Range with glacier views.
3 min read
A 10-mile out-and-back to the Hellroaring Plateau in the Absaroka Range of Custer Gallatin National Forest, climbing 2,000 feet through dense timber to open high-country terrain near Yellowstone's northern border.
4 min read
An easy 4-mile out-and-back along Slough Creek in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, offering peaceful riverside walking and access to one of the most prolific fly fishing streams in the greater Yellowstone area.
4 min read
Bucking Mule Falls Trail is a 2.0-mile out-and-back walk on the eastern escarpment of the Bighorn Mountains to a viewpoint overlooking a 600-foot waterfall plunging into the Tongue River Canyon.
4 min read
The Solitude Loop is an 8.0-mile circuit through mid-elevation forest and meadow terrain near the eastern approach to Bighorn National Forest, offering ridge views toward Cloud Peak and the Wyoming plains.
4 min read
A strenuous 6-mile out-and-back to the summit area of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Shoshone National Forest, gaining 2,400 feet through sagebrush and pine forest to exposed ridgeline views over the Bighorn Basin.
3 min read
A 7-mile out-and-back along Elk Fork Creek through the Wapiti Valley corridor of Shoshone National Forest, offering moderate forest hiking with fishing access and wildlife viewing in prime elk and grizzly habitat.
3 min read
Hike the Porcupine Creek Trail in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This moderate-hard 8.0-mile out-and-back follows a remote creek drainage with mountain views and wildlife.
3 min read
Walk the Smith River Access Trail in Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana. This easy 3.5-mile out-and-back gains just 400 feet along the scenic Smith River corridor with excellent wildlife habitat.
3 min read
Tensleep Canyon Trail is a 5.0-mile out-and-back walk along Tensleep Creek through the limestone canyon walls of the Bighorn Mountains' western escarpment, one of the most geologically interesting canyon hikes in Wyoming.
4 min read
Hike Hyalite Canyon in Gallatin National Forest, Montana. This moderate-hard 9.4-mile out-and-back follows a scenic canyon past multiple waterfalls to beautiful alpine Hyalite Lake.
3 min read
Climb Meagher Ridge in Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana. This moderate-hard 6-mile out-and-back gains 1,400 feet through the Little Belt Mountains with ridge views and wildflower meadows.
3 min read