Tried and True Trips

Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: October - 2022

The pandemic prompted many spring-through-fall vacation travelers these past two years to stay closer to home, thus swelling well-known national parks, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and even Great Smoky Mountains. Yet, it behooves modern-day explorers to venture off the popular radar. Although most everyone in the United States has heard of and/or visited Yellowstone National Park, fewer individuals realize that Montana’s Custer Gallatin National Forest, comprised of 1,819,515 acres, actually borders Yellowstone and includes portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries, which means the stunning mountain ranges and peaks – many of which stay snow-covered much of the year – are seemingly endless. While Yellowstone National Park is packed with sightseers and hikers from late spring to fall, the National Forest shares the same ecosystem and opportunities to see wildlife, yet it is much less congested because it is much less considered. Still, the forest provides opportunities to fish for three species of trout, as well as other fish, in the major tributaries of the Missouri, Gallatin, and Madison rivers. Views are resplendent of jagged rock cliffs, which are often replete with bighorn sheep. But then there are summits galore, including six separate mountain ranges: Gallatin, Madison, Bridger, Crazy, Absaroka, and Beartooth. The Beartooth range is home to Granite Peak, at 12,799 feet, the highest in Montana. And then the well-marked hiking trails are so abundant, one would need months to tackle them all. Fly into Bozeman, Montana, and drive Highway 191 to West Yellowstone, which takes a surprise, no-gate-entry-necessary, pass into Yellowstone National Park for several miles. Along the 88-mile spectacularly scenic 191 are 10 day-hike trails, including Porcupine Creek, Buck Ridge, and Windy Pass, as well as three suggested backpacking trails (see fs.usda.gov; “Gallatin Canyon, Higlhway 191 and Big Sky”). Finally, once in West Yellowstone, instead of only partaking in the obvious – entrance into Yellowstone National Park and all that it offers – drive the 25 miles along Highway 287, which is almost entirely in view of Hebgen Lake, the Madison Range, Mt. Hebgen, and the waterway that flooded a valley when in 1959 a 7.5 earthquake sifted the landscape creating what is now known as Earthquake Lake. There, the Custer Gallatin National Forest keeps an informational and educational visitor center with a fascinating look at how the majestic landscape was formed. Return to West Yellowstone via the same route or make a similar-distance loop into Idaho to view Bighorn Mountains, a spur extending from the Rocky Mountains approximately 200 miles northward on the Great Plains. Once the exploratory, off-the-beaten-path adventure is completed, the return trip on 191 is a stunning “see you later” before boarding a plane at the Bozeman airport. by Deena Bouknight