Quezi

Lost Lake in the Beartooth Mountains portion of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area, accessible via a 5-mile hike from a trailhead near Red Lodge, Montana. Mvguy photo. CC-BY.

The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area borders Yellowstone National Park and is made up of about 940,000 acres (3,800 square kilometers) of land in three national forests, mostly in Montana with a small portion in Wyoming. It includes Granite Peak, the highest point in Montana, as well as the largest contiguous area of land above 10,000 feet elevation in the contiguous United States.

As in other U.S. wilderness areas, motorized vehicles and equipment as well as any kind of permanent development, including logging and mining, are banned in the Absaroka-Beartooth. Wildlife is abundant — you’ll find more large mammals such as grizzly bears, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and deer here than humans. You’ll also find numerous species of birds as well as pika and wolves.

The wilderness area was created in 1975, although it had official federal protection for decades before that. It is most commonly accessed via local roads south of Interstate 90 in Montana and along the Beartooth Highway (seasonally open), which connects Red Lodge, Mont., with Yellowstone.

The Absaroka-Beartooth is made up of two distinct mountain ranges, the Absaroka (which adjoins Yellowstone and is named after an indigenous word referring to the Crow Indians), which is generally forested, and the rugged Beartooth Mountains, which rise to more than two miles high and in places form a large tundra plateau. The Beartooths are covered with many lakes, making the area popular for fishing and hiking. The wilderness area also is used extensively by backpackers, hunters, horseback riders and mountain or rock climbers.

Because of the high elevation, parts of the wilderness area are covered by snow throughout the year (there are some small glaciers), although nearly all trails are clear by July. Snowstorms can occur at any time of year.

Information about the most popular hiking trails and access roads can be obtained from the Custer National Forest, and information about professional guide services is available form the Red Lodge Visitors Center.