ELK LAKE RESORT
Montana's Premiere Resort Experience Since 1932
Hiking Montana Backcountry: An Experience
every outdoor lover should have at least once in their life.
They call Montana Big Sky Country for good reason. The bountiful nature surrounding our Montana Lodge offers trails into pure solitude. Spend the day enjoying a self-guided hike traversing a developed trail or trekking cross-country.
Step outside of the world of hustle and bustle, blaring horns and roaring engines. Experience the voice of nature in the whisper of the wind in the pines and the lapping of the lake’s water against a quiet shoreline.
A day spent hiking in the Montana Mountains offers solitude, pristine nature, and the unmatched big Montana skies as your only companions.
From the Lodge
Several hiking opportunities begin here at the lodge. Spend the day following cattle and game trails through the canyons and up the hillsides. Ramble along the lakeshore, watching for river otters, elk, deer, and waterfowl. Travel up the draw and across the ridge to reach the heights of Elk Mountain and a spectacular view of two mountain ranges, Elk Lake, and the Centennial Valley.
Hidden Lake
Additional hiking opportunities originate at Hidden Lake. Follow the developed trail along Hidden Lake watching for wildlife, waterfowl, and small mammals along the trail. Reaching the lake's end, you can continue through the trees to Hoodoo Pass or down Lost Mine Canyon to Goose, Otter and Cliff Lakes.
Mountain Trails
Want to traverse a more alpine setting? There are three trailheads in the Odell Creek Trail, which follows a pretty mountain stream into large bowls surrounded by the rugged Centennials. Follow the Blair Lake Trail to the headwaters of the mighty Missouri as you relish vast mountain vistas or dip your line into Lillian or Blair Lake. The Continental Divide Trail, heading into the Centennials, traverses the face of the mountain with expansive views up into the high mountain bowls on Mount Jefferson and impressive vistas looking across the Centennial Valley before dropping you into the red rock-sided Hell Roaring Creek Drainage.
If you've got a good pair of shoes, two healthy legs, a comfortable daypack, and a water bottle, you're pretty well set for adventure.