Great Views from the Lamar River Trail

Views down Soda Butte Creek from the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Views down Soda Butte Creek from the Lamar River Trail

If I could only choose one trail to hike in northwestern Yellowstone, it would be the Lamar River Trail. I’m crazy about meadows and mountain views, but beyond that, we also saw more wildlife than on any other trail we’ve hiked in the park (the only contender would be the Fountain Flat Freight Road, which had a lot of bison – but I still think Lamar Valley beat it out for sheer numbers). Add to this that it’s not particularly strenuous, and yet you feel in the middle of nowhere. You can also extend it to be longer or shorter depending on your needs, interests, timeline, and desires.

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 7.3 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 837ft. Pets: No Fees: $35/vehicle

The sign at the beginning of the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — The sign at the beginning of the Lamar River Trail

We didn’t get an early a start that morning, mostly because I’d had other plans for the day. But since that trail was unexpectedly closed, I quickly pivoted to head up into the Lamar Valley. At about 8am, I took the second to last spot at the official Lamar River Trailhead (the stock trailhead still had a few spots when we drove by – for all the cars, I only saw a dozen people at most on the trail).

Leaping from a rock back to the shore of Soda Butte Creek from the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Leaping from a rock back to the shore of Soda Butte Creek

From the parking area, take the well-beaten path down to the bridge over Soda Butte Creek. The view from the bridge is one of the best on the entire trail – to the south (right), the river is blue with grasslands and low mountains; to the north, Abiathar and Barronette Peaks rise beyond the river. Gorgeous!

Hiking up along Soda Butte Creek on the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Hiking up along Soda Butte Creek

On the other side of the bridge, the trail turns right to head upstream. Quite a few bison were grazing on the flat beside the river. Thankfully, the trail rises above the creek (and finally ascends the bluff to the valley level), so it stayed far enough away from the grazing bison.

Bison grazing along Soda Butte Creek (I used all of my considerable zoom for this photo!), Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Bison grazing along Soda Butte Creek (I used all of my considerable zoom for this photo!)

Once atop the bluff, the trail meanders through sagebrush to the junction with the Stock Trail (which goes off on the right to the Stock Trailhead). There’s no reason you couldn’t park at the Stock Trailhead and hike in that way – the views would still be great.

Looking back down the valley toward the parking lot from the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Looking back down the valley toward the parking lot

A quarter mile later, the trail to Specimen Ridge (and to Amethyst Mountain) strikes off on the right. Continue left on the Lamar River Trail.

Looking back down the trail while rounding the hill into the Lamar River Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Looking back down the trail while rounding the hill into the Lamar River Valley

After the two junctions, the trail turns left to continue its ascent above the Lamar Valley. The views are gorgeous of the valley below and the peaks of the Mirror Plateau across the valley.

Views back down into the valley (to the west) from the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Views back down into the valley (to the west)

I had the advantage of hiking in September, so the grass had turned yellow. There’s just nothing (in my mind) like a yellow-grass-filled valley! We also saw bison grazing in the valley bottom.

Bison grazing in the Lamar River Valley below the trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Bison grazing in the Lamar River Valley below the trail

In this section, if you look closely, you can see a geothermal area that empties into the Lamar River. It’s not very impressive, but it has turned the hillside white.

Hiking down to the Cache Creek Trail Junction on the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Hiking down to the Cache Creek Trail Junction

The trail rises up to a pass and then descends to the Cache Creek Trail Junction at mile 3.6. Take the right fork toward Miller Creek Trail and the Cold Creek Junction (I was glad we weren’t turning left – the trail looked like it was rarely used). The trail descends from there, losing elevation more quickly after entering the trees on its way down to Cache Creek.

Hiking down to Cache Creek on the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Hiking down to Cache Creek

Finally, 3.8 (or so) from the parking area, the trail reaches Cache Creek. Two backcountry campsites are located near here; the first (3L1) is just upstream, while the second (3L2) is across the river. To continue on the Lamar River Trail, you would need to cross the creek here and then hike south. In fact, beyond this, you’d meet up with the Lamar River – so far, the Lamar River Trail has crossed two creeks and never touched the Lamar River, itself!

Along the bank of Cache Creek on the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Along the bank of Cache Creek

I had no special interest in crossing Cache Creek (not because it looked hard, but because I wasn’t just going to hop across), so we sat with our backs to a wall of dried mud along the riverbank and ate a snack before heading back to the parking area.

Hiking back down the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Hiking back down the Lamar River Trail

Hiking back, the most surprising thing to me was the views after the Specimen Ridge Trail. Abiathar Peak and Barronette Peak rise up out of the valley and are super spectacular!

Views down Soda Butte Creek from the Lamar River Trail Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Views down Soda Butte Creek

Round Trip Trail Length: I went 7.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 837ft. (6,608ft. to 7,005ft.)

Facilities: Primitive restroom at the Stock Trailhead

Fees: $35/vehicle, valid 7 days. America the Beautiful National Parks & Federal Lands Passes and Yellowstone Annual Passes are accepted.

We saw a pronghorn above the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — We saw a pronghorn above the trail

Trail Notes: The Lamar Valley is famous for its wildlife, including bison, wolves, bears, pronghorn, coyotes, wolverines, and much more. Be ready to navigate traffic along the side of the road, full parking lots, and plenty of huge camera lenses blocking the view (just kidding on the last one, but you get the idea). Early morning or late afternoon are your best bets for seeing wildlife, though I preferred the mid- to late-morning views of the mountains. The 7.2 miles felt much shorter to me (closer to 5 miles) because of the gentleness of the terrain and a (mostly good if not very wide) trail (the trail is usually just a dirt ribbon between the grass).

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

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

Overall Rating:

Heading out on the Lamar Valley Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Heading out on the Lamar Valley Trail

GPS Coordinates for the Lamar Valley Trail

TH: 44.8692110°, -110.1662300° (44°52.15266′, -110°09.97380′ / 44°52’09.1596″, -110°09’58.4280″) (6,647ft.) (0.0)

Stock Trail Junction: 44.8562900°, -110.1758320° (44°51.37740′, -110°10.54992′ / 44°51’22.6440″, -110°10’32.9952″) (6,644ft.) (1.18)

A discarded snakeskin... sorry, I love these things! Cache Creek, Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — A discarded snakeskin… sorry, I love these things!

Specimen Ridge Trail: 44.8536510°, -110.1771840° (44°51.21906′, -110°10.63104′ / 44°51’13.1436″, -110°10’37.8624″) (6,679ft.) (1.38)

Cache Creek Junction: 44.8360630°, -110.1528960° (44°50.16378′, -110°09.17376′ / 44°50’09.8268″, -110°09’10.4256″) (6,951ft.) (3.65)

End at TH: 44.8692200°, -110.1661960° (44°52.15320′, -110°09.97176′ / 44°52’09.1920″, -110°09’58.3056″) (6,646ft.) (7.29)

Autumn colors along Cache Creek and the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — Autumn colors along Cache Creek

The gpx file for the Lamar River Trail to Cache Creek 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.

Download GPX File size: 77.9 KB Downloaded 10 times

A Sticky Geranium flower along the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — A Sticky Geranium flower

(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

A mother and baby bison along the Lamar River Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — A mother and baby bison

Getting to the Lamar River Trailhead

From Tower Junction, drive north on US-212 toward Northeast Entrance and Cooke City. After 14.7 miles, the (more or less unmarked) trailhead will be on the right.

A Niobe Fritillary Butterfly along the Lamar Valley Trail, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — A Niobe Fritillary Butterfly

From the Northeastern Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, follow the main road 13.4 miles to the (more or less unmarked) trailhead on the left.

The trail map at the Lamar River Trailhead, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming — The trail map at the Lamar River Trailhead (click the photo and then click it again to make it bigger)

If the parking area is full, there may still be space at the Stock Trailhead, 0.4 miles east down the road (be careful to respect that area set aside for trailers). Take the Stock Trail to meet up with the regular Lamar River Trail.

Visual trail map and elevation profile for my hike on the Lamar River Trail to Cache Creek

Today’s Featured Product!

Go for an extremely varied and all-encompassing guide to Yellowstone with the quality of this FalconGuide. With 110 trails to choose from, organized by difficulty and region, it’s easy to plan a trip with it. Buy your copy here!