Christmas Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (WY)
Approaches: Unmarked highway pull-out — under 1 mi down, steep, no defined route. About 35 minutes back up

Elevation: 10,094 feet
Fish: No WYG&F data
Coordinates: 44.96628, -109.42778
Bugs: Not recorded

Getting there

Park at the small unmarked pull-out along the highway. It holds a few vehicles. You cannot see the lake from the road, which is the first thing to know about this one.

The hike

From the pull-out you walk straight down into the basin. Under a mile, but steep the entire way with no clearly defined line to follow.

Mark your entry point before you drop in. There is no established trail, the lake is not visible from the road, and the road is not visible from the lake. Coming back up to the wrong spot on a highway shoulder is a real possibility and it is the only genuine hazard on this hike.

Budget about 35 minutes for the climb out. Longer if you are carrying gear or young children.

Christmas sits at 10,094 feet. Wyoming Game and Fish data has not been pulled for it. The lake has a reputation for good fishing. We did not catch anything on our visit.

Tips & safety

• Remember where you came in. No trail down, no trail back, and nothing visible from either end to navigate by.

• Steep both ways. Under a mile, but the descent is the easy half and the climb out is what takes the time.

• The pull-out is unmarked and small. A few vehicles at most, and nothing signs it.

• Fishing: No Wyoming Game and Fish data. Reputation is good, our results were not.

• Camping: Christmas sits at 10,094 feet in a basin below the highway, which gives it more shelter than the elevation suggests. The catch is carrying everything back up that slope. Better as a day trip.

• Little Legs: we walked this one with our own young kids and they finished it on their own feet. That is a record of one day with our kids, not a rating. Read what Little Legs means.