Island Lake to Becker Lake, Albino Lake, and Jasper Lake

A hiker in a meadow beside an alpine lake with cliffs beyond — A hiker and the trail along Albino Lake

Island Lake is considered one of the premier places to hike along the Beartooth Highway. From the parking area, you can access such gorgeous destinations as walking around Island Lake, Beauty Lake, Becker Lake, and/or hiking all of the way out to Jasper Lake. I took in a lot of fabulous scenery between Island Lake and Jasper Lake, though I didn’t quite make it all of the way down to the final lake (I was already pushing time quite a bit, but the scenery was so stunning that I went on and on and on…) No matter how far you hike, you’ll be treated to gorgeous views, pristine alpine lakes, peaceful meadows, and much more!

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: Up to 16.5 miles Trail Type: Out & back with detour option Elevation Gain: 2,122ft. Pets: Leashed Fees: None

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Rocky meadows and cliffs lead from a blue lake to a square peak against blue sky — Sky Pilot Mountain over Jasper Lake

One of the fun things about this hike is that you start in Wyoming and end up in Montana somewhere between Becker Lake and Albino Lake. The other fun thing is that the views start right at the trailhead and never really let up except for a few short stints in the trees. Once past Becker Lake, the scenery around the trail is all meadows and rocks with towering mountains high above. My favorite kind of scenery for miles upon miles – now that’s a great hike!

Yellow wildflowers beside a trail through a meadow heading for cliffy mountains — Wildflowers along the trail between Becker Lake and Albino Lake

0.0 Island Lake Hiker’s Parking Area (9,565ft.). There are two places to park – first, there are a few parking spaces down near the boat launch. This will cut 0.2 miles each way off your hike, but parking there is very limited. I opted to park in the more shaded hiker’s parking lot, so that’s where my mileage starts. Take the well-defined trail by the sign kiosk down to the boat launch. (44.9419540°, -109.5357140°)

A hiker stands in a gravel parking lot beside green bushes next to a lake over which we can see mountains — Views from the boat dock – this gorgeous view is a taste of what’s to come! The rounded rocky mountain is Lonesome Peak.

0.2 Boat Launch by Island Lake (9,539ft.). There are two ways to go around Island Lake. The more popular route goes left (clockwise) and is 0.2 miles shorter than my route. I opted to do the less popular route first and turned right (counterclockwise) on a trail that dropped to cross the Island Lake Outlet – I was able to rock-hop and keep my feet (mostly) dry in late August. From here, the faint trail worked its way through meadows along the lakeshore, becoming vaguer until it was almost invisible on the eastern shore. However, it’s hard to get lost, as all you have to do is keep the lakeshore on your left. Things get a little tricky about halfway up the lake, but keep going, and you’ll eventually pick up the trail again near the head of the lake. I visited on a very peaceful morning, and as I walked along the shore, some ripples in the water caught my eye – otters! In the wild! How cool is that?!? The path curves north (right) away from the lake to cross Island Lake’s inlet quite a distance upstream from the lake. This crossing is an easy rock hop on giant boulders. Almost immediately after the crossing, pick up the Island Lake Trail. (44.9426650°, -109.5385750°)

A meadow gives way to water, then a rock, then trees, then a distant mountain — Views of Lonesome Mountain on the east shore of Island Lake

1.6 Meet the Island Lake Trail (9,545ft.). Turn right to continue up to Night Lake, only a short distance away. Pass a few more lakes before the Becker Lake Trail Junction. All of these lakes are lovely and well worth seeing even if you don’t want to go all of the way to Becker Lake and beyond. (44.9531600°, -109.5467010°)

The Becker Lake Trail travels through meadows and between trees toward distant mountains — The trail toward Becker Lake

3.45 Becker Lake Trail Junction (9,659ft.). This junction is very obvious but unmarked in a copse of trees. If you go too far, you will find a sign pointing right toward Becker Lake – but the route where the sign points is not the most used one, and I’m not sure whether or not it’s hikable. If you really go too far, you descend to Beauty Lake (a worthy destination unto itself; I’d finally get there the next day, though from a different trailhead). Turn right at the unmarked trail junction on the well-troddon trail that descends to another lake (apparently unnamed). The path splits near here, with one trail going left along a part of the lakeshore and the other going straight to cross the outlet and continue along the shore of the unnamed lake into a rock scramble. Take your time to scramble over the rocks and pick up the trail on the other side as it rambles steeply up to a pass and then down the other side and eventually to the Becker Lake Spur – I found this uphill to be the hardest part of the entire hike because it’s very steep and the trail looks like a well-worn but unengineered social path. Take a breather or two along the way, especially if you’re only two days out from living at 300ft. above sea level like me! (44.9734980°, -109.5642040°)

Green grass and bushes with a thin line of a lake and then rocky mountains beyond — Standing on the shore of the unnamed lake

4.6 Becker Lake Spur on left (9,757ft.). If you only want to go as far as Becker Lake, this is your turnoff to descend to the lake – though the lake extends for a long distance northward, and there are several more places where you could access the lake and be farther from other hikers and campers. (It seems most backpackers come out to Becker Lake, so it can get congested at times). We decided to stay on the higher trail and head for Albino Lake. While the trail has been a mix of meadows and forests up until now, the trees more or less vanish at this point and you’ll be walking in meadows for the remainder of the hike. The path continues to work its way upward, eventually passing above the upper part of Becker Lake before truly beginning its meadow climb toward Albino Lake. Just before arriving at Albino Lake, the trail will seem to go straight, but you actually want to turn left to cross the lake’s outlet to pick up one of a few social trails along the south end of the lake. (44.9870050°, -109.5653100°)

Becker Lake sits between meadows and rounded mountains — Walking near the far end of Becker Lake

6.7 Albino Lake (10,004ft.). Views are spectacular, especially from the foot of the lake and as you walk north along the lakeshore. This is a great turnaround spot, but I decided to push daylight (and mileage, and energy, and not-quite-in-shape-yet ability) and continue up to Jasper Lake. The path works its way mostly on a level surface (if very much a classic lakeside trail on the steep edge of the hillside) to the end of Albino Lake, then rises not terribly steeply up to the pass separating this valley from the next. Along the way, it scrambles through some rocks, but it’s not too difficult. On the other side of the pass, Jasper Lake comes into view, with Amber Lake to the left. Wow!! (45.0113480°, -109.5758760°)

A fisherman beside a blue lake sitting among meadows in front of rocky hills — A fisherman at Albino Lake

8.4 Jasper Lake Viewpoint (10,265ft.). I continued down the other side of the pass to a viewpoint overlooking Jasper Lake and Amber Lake. Incredible! This really was the crowning touch of an absolutely gorgeous hike! Feel free to descend another 0.2 miles to the lake if desired before retracing your steps to the trailhead (though we did go on the more popular trail along the west shore of Island Lake on our way back – and I highly recommend it; it’s a much easier trail to hike and follow than on the east side of Island Lake!) (45.0241070°, -109.5918610°)

Two lakes sit on a rocky tundra plain in the mountains — A panorama of Jasper Lake (right) and Amber Lake. I couldn’t capture the sheer grandeur of the place.

Round Trip Trail Length: I went basically 16 miles, though there are many ways to make this trail shorter without giving up (too much) spectacular scenery. For example, you could circle Island Lake for a 2.8 mile hike, or go to Becker Lake for a 9-ish mile round trip route, or go to Albino Lake for a 13.4 miles trek – or you can stop wherever you please along the way, because the scenery is good enough to be fantastic no matter how far you hike!

The head of an otter as it swims through a blue lake — One of the two otters. So thankful for 400mm lens and then some cropping after the fact.

Elevation Gain: 2,122ft. (9,519ft. to 10,332ft.)

Facilities: Water and primitive restrooms at the campground at the trailhead. There is also one picnic table near the boat ramp, but no sidewalk goes to it, so be ready to tramp across a rocky meadow to get to it.

Fees: None

Rocks in a stream bordered by meadows with mountains in the distance — The Island Lake inlet/Night Lake Outlet near where I crossed to get back to the Island Lake Trail

Trail Notes: This is an extremely long trail to do as a day hike. I did it, but it was a very long day and we were extremely tired by the end (it might not have helped that we were on our second long hike after a five-month break, and we weren’t even close to acclimated to the elevation yet). Stopping at Becker Lake, hiking only partway up to Albino Lake, or turning around at Albino Lake are all great ways to make the hike shorter. Be wary of afternoon thundershowers, as there is little to no cover up here. Most people hiking the trail seemed to be backpacking and fishing – a fishing license is required (Wyoming and Montana have separate licenses, and the state line is somewhere between Becker and Albino lakes), and while no permit is currently required to camp along the trail, wilderness regulations do apply (like camping 200ft. from water, etc.).

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

A boulder and wildflowers among rocks with blue sky beyond — Wildflowers and a huge boulder in the scramble along the unnamed lake

GPS Coordinates for Island Lake to Jasper Lake

TH: 44.9419540°, -109.5357140° (44°56.51724′, -109°32.14284′ / 44°56’31.0344″, -109°32’08.5704″) (9,565ft.) (0.0)

Upper parking (boat launch parking area): 44.9426650°, -109.5385750° (44°56.55990′, -109°32.31450′ / 44°56’33.5940″, -109°32’18.8700″) (9,539ft.) (0.16)

A rocky stream and a trail in meadows in an alpine valley — Hiking up toward Albino Lake

Cross stream: 44.9519810°, -109.5374280° (44°57.11886′, -109°32.24568′ / 44°57’07.1316″, -109°32’14.7408″) (9,524ft.) (1.04)

Meet Trail: 44.9531600°, -109.5467010° (44°57.18960′, -109°32.80206′ / 44°57’11.3760″, -109°32’48.1236″) (9,545ft.) (1.64)

Pink and yellow wildflowers in meadows in a rocky alpine valley with a blue lake and mountains in the distance — Looking back at Becker Lake

Becker Lake Junction: 44.9734980°, -109.5642040° (44°58.40988′, -109°33.85224′ / 44°58’24.5928″, -109°33’51.1344″) (9,659ft.) (3.45)

Trail down to Becker Lake: 44.9870050°, -109.5653100° (44°59.22030′, -109°33.91860′ / 44°59’13.2180″, -109°33’55.1160″) (9,757ft.) (4.56)

A furry pika on a green and black lichen covered rock — A cute little pica I saw on a rock along the way

End of Becker Lake: 44.9985300°, -109.5700710° (44°59.91180′, -109°34.20426′ / 44°59’54.7080″, -109°34’12.2556″) (9,700ft.) (5.61)

Albino Lake: 45.0113480°, -109.5758760° (45°00.68088′, -109°34.55256′ / 45°00’40.8528″, -109°34’33.1536″) (10,004ft.) (6.69)

A trail meanders through golden meadows beside a blue stream with cliffs on the left and clouds in the sky — Looking back down the trail just before Albino Lake

Jasper Lake/Gold Lake Overlook: 45.0241070°, -109.5918610° (45°01.44642′, -109°35.51166′ / 45°01’26.7852″, -109°35’30.6996″) (10,265ft.) (8.42)

Cross stream: 44.9430000°, -109.5414150° (44°56.58000′, -109°32.48490′ / 44°56’34.8000″, -109°32’29.0940″) (9,523ft.) (15.77)

End: 44.9419430°, -109.5357710° (44°56.51658′, -109°32.14626′ / 44°56’30.9948″, -109°32’08.7756″) (9,565ft.) (15.96)

A trail leads through meadows with wildflowers to a rocky alpine pass with clouds in the sky — The path leading up to the pass between Albino Lake and Jasper Lake

The gpx file for Island Lake to Jasper Lake can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

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A trail in a rocky alpine meadow above a blue lake with cliffs on the left and clouds in the sky — Looking back at Albino Lake from the pass

Getting to the Island Lake Trailhead

From Red Lodge, Montana, take US-212 (the Beartooth Highway) south and west toward Yellowstone National Park and Cooke City. After 38.1 miles, turn right onto an unassuming gravel road well-marked for Island Lake Recreation Area. To get to the hiker’s parking area (where I parked), drive 0.2 miles, then take the first right and drive to the end of the road (trailers should park here). To get to the boat launch area, stay on the main gravel road as it passes the restrooms on the left and the trash bins on the right. Take the sharp right turn near the water pump (yes, one of those old green pumps) to travel downhill to the boat launch area – you’ll probably see people parking along the road (be careful of the no parking signed areas), though there are only a few official parking spaces above the boat launch.

Evening light on Island Lake with hazy distant mountains — Views across Island Lake while walking the west side of the lake back to the parking lot. The mountains at the end of the valley are Lonesome Mountain (just slightly visible), Castle Mountain (just slightly visible), Castle Rock Mountain, and Sky Pilot Peak.

From Cooke City, drive US-212 (the Beartooth Highway) east toward Red Lodge. After 25.8 miles, turn left onto an unassuming gravel road well-marked for Island Lake Recreation Area. Follow the directions (above) to your preferred parking area.

Visual trail map for my trek from Island Lake around its east side, then up the west side of Night Lake, the east side of Becker Lake, the west side of Albino Lake, and over the pass to a viewpoint above Jasper Lake

More Hikes on the Beartooth Highway

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