Hike to Lost Lake: Relaxing hike through meadows to a serene little lake.
Hiked on Sunday, July 20, 2014; reviewed December 5, 2014 See this review on Trip Advisor or the hike details on EveryTrail.
The hike to Lost Lake was suggested by the Ranger at the Tower Ranger Station as one of three great short hikes nearby to Roosevelt Lodge (the other two were the hike along Hellroaring Creek trail down to the suspension bridge and the trail from the Yellowstone Picnic Areas trailhead along the Yellowstone River Canyon). We did all three of these hikes in one day during our visit in July 2014. The hike to Lost Lake was our second for the day following the trek along the Hellroaring Creek trail.
Lost Lake can be accessed from either the trailhead at the Petrified Tree or from the trail starting behind Roosevelt Lodge. The Ranger suggested the Petrified Tree trailhead as it makes for a much easier hike to the lake. We arrived at the parking area for the trailhead and Petrified Tree around 10:30 AM. There were lots of folks checking out the petrified tree, but no one seemed interested in the trailhead, so we decided to hike first and walked to the upper part of the parking area, away from the stone tree. We were struggling with the direction to take, as all we could see was a very steep trail that went straight up the hill at the end of the parking lot. That won’t be fun at all. But when we reached the end of the pavement, we saw the trailhead sign and the rest of the trail leading down the hill below the level of the lot and up the adjacent valley. Much better. We went that way.
This is a lovely little hike through the valley that was just littered with wildflowers and butterflies. Plus lots of signs of where the “buffalo roam” or at least had recently roamed. It is a short walk to the lake along a level but narrow trail. We walked to the far (east) end of the lake, so it was nearly a 3-mile round-trip hike. There were a few ducks on the lake (Mallards and Barrow’s Goldeneyes) and a few songbirds. On the return trip I got a couple of decent shots of some of the butterflies. Not a lot of traffic on the Lost Lake trail. We passed four other groups, ranging from a single guy to a family with three kids; Mom was really worried about bears.
Back at the parking area, we paid our respects to the petrified tree. The signage there indicates that it is the same as the coastal redwoods in California. The tree was buried in ash following a volcanic eruption about 50 million years ago. There’s not much left of it now and it is protected by a wrought iron fence; seems too many tourists back in the early days of the park carried off pieces of the trunk for souvenirs (that would never happen today, right?).
This was a very nice little walk along an easy trail. Pretty scenery all the way to the lake. But it is an exposed hike, so plan accordingly. I think this is a great trail and a nice way to spend an hour.
The hike to Lost Lake was suggested by the Ranger at the Tower Ranger Station as one of three great short hikes nearby to Roosevelt Lodge (the other two were the hike along Hellroaring Creek trail down to the suspension bridge and the trail from the Yellowstone Picnic Areas trailhead along the Yellowstone River Canyon). We did all three of these hikes in one day during our visit in July 2014. The hike to Lost Lake was our second for the day following the trek along the Hellroaring Creek trail.
Lost Lake can be accessed from either the trailhead at the Petrified Tree or from the trail starting behind Roosevelt Lodge. The Ranger suggested the Petrified Tree trailhead as it makes for a much easier hike to the lake. We arrived at the parking area for the trailhead and Petrified Tree around 10:30 AM. There were lots of folks checking out the petrified tree, but no one seemed interested in the trailhead, so we decided to hike first and walked to the upper part of the parking area, away from the stone tree. We were struggling with the direction to take, as all we could see was a very steep trail that went straight up the hill at the end of the parking lot. That won’t be fun at all. But when we reached the end of the pavement, we saw the trailhead sign and the rest of the trail leading down the hill below the level of the lot and up the adjacent valley. Much better. We went that way.
This is a lovely little hike through the valley that was just littered with wildflowers and butterflies. Plus lots of signs of where the “buffalo roam” or at least had recently roamed. It is a short walk to the lake along a level but narrow trail. We walked to the far (east) end of the lake, so it was nearly a 3-mile round-trip hike. There were a few ducks on the lake (Mallards and Barrow’s Goldeneyes) and a few songbirds. On the return trip I got a couple of decent shots of some of the butterflies. Not a lot of traffic on the Lost Lake trail. We passed four other groups, ranging from a single guy to a family with three kids; Mom was really worried about bears.
Back at the parking area, we paid our respects to the petrified tree. The signage there indicates that it is the same as the coastal redwoods in California. The tree was buried in ash following a volcanic eruption about 50 million years ago. There’s not much left of it now and it is protected by a wrought iron fence; seems too many tourists back in the early days of the park carried off pieces of the trunk for souvenirs (that would never happen today, right?).
This was a very nice little walk along an easy trail. Pretty scenery all the way to the lake. But it is an exposed hike, so plan accordingly. I think this is a great trail and a nice way to spend an hour.