Dollar Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (MT)
Approaches: Clarks Fork Trailhead — 6 mi, 4 on trail with 2 mi off-trail; 1,100 ft up, 100 ft down · From Sedge Lake — about 0.7 mi southwest, cross-country · From Curl Lake — about 2.5 mi east and 550 ft up, cross-country

Elevation: 8,971 feet
Fish: Yellowstone cutthroat (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.05145, -109.82018
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

From the Clarks Fork Trailhead it is about 6 miles, and the last 2 are off trail with 1,100 feet of climbing. That is the most route finding of any lake in this stretch.

We came the long way. Dollar was a stop on the fourth day of a thru hike that started at the Lady of the Lake Trailhead. A thru hike takes two vehicles. We left one at the Clarks Fork end of the Beaten Path, drove around to Lady of the Lake in the other, and started walking. Set the shuttle rig before you leave, not after.

The hike

Day four, about 28 miles into the trip and heading out.

Coming off Sedge Lake, Dollar is roughly seven tenths of a mile southwest across open forest benches. There is no trail and none is needed. The ground barely changes elevation between the two, and it is straightforward country even with a heavy pack, though it took us most of an hour at the pace of a fourth morning.

Dollar itself is small, about an acre, sitting quiet on the upper shelf before the country drops away toward the valley. FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat.

Below Dollar the shelf ends. The descent toward Curl and the valley floor is two and a half miles of unmarked ground and is the last real route finding on this itinerary.

Tips & safety

• Fishing: FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat.

• Route: there is no trail between Sedge and Dollar. The walking is easy but you are navigating on your own, and the same is true of everything above the valley floor in this basin.

• Camping: Dollar sits at 8,971 feet on a forested bench, below treeline, so there is timber for wind shelter and duff underfoot rather than rock. At about an acre it is a small pocket of water and the shoreline is limited. We passed through in the middle of the day without scouting sites, so take this as terrain description rather than a report on what is available.

• Thru hike logistics: this is point to point, not a loop. Your ride has to already be parked at the exit trailhead.