East Rosebud Trail to Elk Lake

There are a few ways to approach Granite Peak. The most popular route is the Mystic Lake trail in West Rosebud. It lies primarily on opinion as to which route is the best, easiest, or most scenic. I chose to start at the Phantom Creek trailhead in the East Rosebud Valley. You will follow this trail up "the switchbacks from hell" for around seven miles, gaining approximately 3,500 feet in elevat...

Also known as "The Beaten Path", the East Rosebud Trail is a highly traveled and well maintained trail with amazing views and a handful of lakes along the route. The trail is ultimately 26 miles long and places you near Cooke City. Rainbow Lake is located 7 miles from the trailhead and is a perfect weekend hike with amazing scenery through the Absoraka-Beartooth Wilderness.The trailhead (6,100'...

We stood there, against the wind, looking at 3-4 pitches. The line appeared too good to be true. It was a bit of an ice pitch, followed by a snow coliour, finishing with a pitch of mixed climbing that would take us to the top.I'd heard things about The Beartooths. But, they weren’t validated until I was there. I had previously envisioned some sort of Yosemite meets the Wild West.Aki and I drove...

The West Rosebud Trail functions as one of the major routes to Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana. The trailhead (6,558') is located approximately 80 miles south of Billings in the Beartooth Absaroka Wilderness. The road to the trail passes Emerald and West Rosebud Lakes just before arriving at the spacious parking area with available restrooms. The trailhead is accessible by walking t...

Thinking we could drive straight to the trailhead in the winter was our first incorrect assumption. When we arrived, we discovered that Lake Fork Road is closed after a certain point, adding another mile or so to our hike. The snow was falling very heavily and we decided to start out and call it whenever the weather got too bad to try to test -- make sure you check local weather reports before ...

As your driving up Redlodge Ski Mtn in the summer or spring, there is a pull off when you get almost to the top. This is a logging trail known as Willow Creek Trail no. 10 this is such a fun trail to lap a couple times in a day or just rip a "one and done" and go find some other trails.