Grizzly Lake in Yellowstone

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There are so many great hikes in Yellowstone National Park. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites for families here. On a recent trip, we found another favorite that is great for families. Grizzly Lake in Yellowstone is located in a section of the park that we love just north of Norris, and it ends at a beautiful lake.

Grizzly Lake in Yellowstone is a lovely lake.

Trailhead

The Grizzly Lake trailhead has a long pullout and a sign just about 15 miles south of Mammoth, or 6 miles north of Norris. There is parking on both sides of the road in the pullouts. The trail starts out through the fire scar from the famous fires of the 1980’s. Most low vegetation has grown back, but there is still lots of open area and lots of forest. Despite the fire, this hike is mostly shaded.

The trail walks next to the road for just a bit and then turns into the meadow.

The Hike

The trail runs about 2 miles to Grizzly Lake in Yellowstone depending on how you plan to hike it (see below). After crossing the narrow valley from the parking area, you’ll climb over the short ridge. Along this first section of the hike we saw bison, marmots, squirrels, many birds, and even a weasel. The climb from the valley is pretty easy, and it puts you in a second valley that curves around toward the lake. From that point, the hike is fairly flat as it approaches the large bowl that holds Grizzly Lake. It wanders through sagebrush and then forest before finally coming to an overlook for the lake.

The trail was super green in June.
The bison were across the meadow from where we hiked.
We saw tons of marmots.
There is a short climb to the top of a hill after the first valley.
There is one trail sign, but the trail is very easy to follow.
Great views back toward the road from the top of the hill.
The trail is nearly flat as you continue on.
You ill walk through sage.
And then you’ll walk through forests.
There were lots of great wildflowers in early summer, too!

At 1.6 miles, the lake comes into view far below. It is much larger than you might expect, and curves away into the south farther than you can see. This is a great place to turn around after sitting and enjoying the view. That makes the trail 3.2 miles, and it would be rated easy.

This is the overlook of Grizzly Lake.

However, the trail continues down to the lake shore. Then it runs around to the outlet, which is jammed with logs and other detritus. We saw some elk on the hill above this area using our favorite binoculars that we take on all our hikes, especially in Yellowstone. The distance to the outlet is around 2.1 miles, making the hike just over 4 miles. Additionally, the hike back up to the rim is somewhat steep, upgrading the Grizzly Lake hike to moderate.

We took the trail down. It is a steep drop, and you’ll have to climb back up.
It’s worth it to stand next to the lake.
The elk we spotted across the lake.
The end of Grizzly Lake is as far as we went on the trail.
We walked on the logs, and they were pretty stable.

Decide what is best for you, and enjoy the hike to Grizzly Lake in Yellowstone. It is beautiful, and on a busy day in June, we saw only two other sets of hikers on this trail. Don’t forget to bring bear spray on this trail since it is often frequented by grizzlies.

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