Beckwourth Lake

Drainage: West Rosebud
Approaches: Mystic Lake Trailhead — 10 mi, about 3,270 ft up · From Silver Lake — about 1.8 mi · From Frenco Lake — about 0.66 mi west-southwest, mostly on trail

Elevation: 9,335 feet
Fish: Yellowstone cutthroat (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.21173, -109.89444
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

Drive West Rosebud Road past Emerald Lake and West Rosebud Lake. The trailhead lot sits just before the power plant at the end of the road, with plenty of room for a standard vehicle.

Beckwourth is about ten miles in with roughly 3,270 feet of climbing. We reached it late in the morning as the second lake of a day out of a camp at Silver Lake.

The hike

This is the easy one. From Frenco it is about two thirds of a mile southwest and there is mostly defined trail the whole way, which is not true of anything else up here. It took us about 45 minutes.

The navigation comes down to one thing. Watch for the trail to cross directly over the inlet stream to Frenco, then follow it as it stays on the south side of the creek drainage all the way up. Stay south of the creek and it takes you to the lake.

Beckwourth is 6.2 acres at 9,335 feet. FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat.

Nugget is under half a mile south from here, following the inlet stream up, and that is where the trail runs out.

Tips & safety

• South side of the creek. Cross at the Frenco inlet and stay south. That is the whole route.

• The accessible one: compared with everything else in the upper drainage this is a straightforward walk, which makes it a good turnaround if you want the high country without the rugged lakes beyond it.

• Camping: there is good ground around the basin with scenic shoreline spots. At 9,335 feet you are getting near the upper limit of shelter, so expect exposure.

• Fishing: FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat.