Refuge Point Loop

The Madison River runs for 183 miles through Wyoming and Montana; however, this section of the Madison is between Hebgen Lake and Earthquake Lake. You get there by driving along Hebgen Lake Road to the Campfire Lodge Resort. Turn into here and head down the dirt road to your right (Ghost Village Rd). You can park anywhere along this road where there is space.  The kinds of flies that are going ...

Hebgen Lake is a beautiful lake, just outside of Yellowstone National Park. With 21 square miles of surface, there's plenty to fish.A favorite place to access the lake for ice fishing is by Kirkwood Resort and Marina. There's easy parking, and you can just walk right out on the lake. The locals there will be very friendly, and give you pointers if you've never been ice fishing.Ice fishing can r...

In early November we drove from Big Sky to this free campsite located on the southern part of the lake. The road is dirt but mellow. We saw no other campers the entire 2 days we were there.  We got out on our inflatable kayak the first day and paddled out on the glassy water near some enormous flocks of ducks. We came back in and hiked around the little bay out to a sandy beach and watched the ...

Wade Lake Campground is a gorgeous campground, situated right on the crystal clear blue waters of Wade Lake. It has a handful of maintained sites, as well as a vault toilet. You can easily car camp here, though you may want to be careful on the road in if you're hauling a camper.  The beauty of this campground though, is that if you continue to hike past it, you're in backpacking and dispersed ...

The trail down Bacon Rind Creek starts along HWY 191, between West Yellowstone and Big Sky. The trail starts at about 7,000 feet of elevation and the first two miles of trail are located inside Yellowstone National Park. The trail then continues through the Lee Metcalf Wilderness and will climb significantly more than the first two miles.The skiing is easy, especially if someone has already bro...

There are some different options for starting and ending this hike, but the route I did started at Buffalo Horn Trailhead and ends at the Hyalite Creek Trailhead, and is approximately 42 miles total. I did the trail over the course of three and a half days, spending three nights in the backcountry.  No permits were needed (the trail is within the Custer-Gallatin National forest. I did call and ...