Beauty Lake
Difficulty: Moderate
Trip Type: Backpacking / Day Hike
Distance: ~2.8 miles from trailhead / ~0.5 miles from Anvil Lake
Elevation: 9,358 feet
Coordinates: 45.10583, -109.97032
Time: ~30 minutes from Anvil Lake
Access: Unmaintained off-trail navigation. ATV or off-road buggy required to reach the vehicle turnaround.
Bugs: Minimal (little to no bugs)
Getting there
Accessing this area requires navigating the rugged Goose Lake Jeep Trail. You will absolutely need an ATV, an off-road buggy, or a highly capable off-road vehicle. Your driving portion ends when you reach the vehicle turnaround near the Goose Creek waterfall area, which serves as your staging spot to park and shoulder your packs.
Be extremely cautious when parking your vehicle; local pine martens are highly active in this basin and are notorious for chewing on wires and cables underneath parked machines. Just before the trail ends near the falls, look for a hard right turn that points you north to begin the hike.
The hike
If you are traveling straight from the vehicle turnaround, the route to Beauty Lake is 2.8 miles and involves 541 vertical feet of elevation gain. For hikers linking lakes together from the Anvil Lake basin, this destination sits roughly half a mile past Anvil Lake. If you are tracking sequentially along the loop, Beauty Lake is located on the way up towards the high bench before you reach Lake Aries.
The trek involves navigating cross-country away from the Anvil Lake basin. The walking remains relatively easy as you cross the immediate drainage to reach Beauty Lake. Once you pass Beauty Lake, you will begin the rigorous, steep hill climb heading up to the bench where Lake Aries sits.
Tips & safety
Navigation: The entire area past Wall Lake is unmaintained. You will rely entirely on cross-country route-finding to navigate the terrain around Beauty Lake and the steep hill climbing up past it.
Weather: High-altitude mountain weather can turn fast here. Come fully prepared for sustained cold rain or sudden storms.
Fishing: FWP and GNIS data listed for Yellowstone Cutthroat.
