West Fork Beaver Creek Trail #222

Dogs Leashed

Features Lake · River/Creek · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This is bear country so be prepared with bear spray and travel in groups.
Wilderness regulations apply
Snow can persist until July

This trail begins from the Beaver Creek road about 3.3 miles from US 287. The road should be passable for any vehicle and there is parking space for about 10 cars. There should be some moments for solitude for you on this trail despite it's proximity to Yellowstone: we only encountered two park rangers who were clearing the trail.

The trail drops to and crosses Beaver Creek which it crosses on a bridge before entering the wilderness area. The trail then gradually climbs along open slopes covered in wildflowers in the early summer. You'll be able to see the west fork of Beaver Creek far below you and the mountains that surround the lakes you're heading to in the distance.
You'll encounter a few narrow sections on crappy, crumbly rock in avalanche/drainage areas. Mind your footing on these sections. There are five in total, only two of which are the most "tricky". After these you'll come to a larger drainage that can have a substantial amount of fast-flowing water in the early summer/spring. This crossing had a single sturdy but slippery log in 2019 that was difficult to cross without walking sticks.

After this you'll enter more wooded areas and get closer to West Fork Beaver Creak. Enjoy some of the cascades (one of which may deserve a name) and rapids as you go. The next significant feature you'll encounter is crossing one of the streams that joins West Fork Beaver Creak (the drainage from Avalanche Lake accessible soon from the Avalanche Lake Trail #152). There are large logs which made crossing this "easy".

Next you'll switchback up to an intersection with Avalanche Lake Trail #152 and cross yet another creek (easy log present if water is too high to just jump over). From here the trail heads south and gradually gains more elevation. You'll soon be at Triple Lakes! Enjoy the beautiful lakes and views from the trail (which officially ends at Blue Danube Lake) before tracing your steps back.

Overall this is a fairly easy trail considering its elevation gain and length, but with a few tricky spots not all hikers will be comfortable with.