Dollar Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (MT)
Approaches: Clarks Fork Trailhead — 6 mi (4 on trail, 2 off-trail); 1,100 ft up / 100 ft down · From Sedge Lake — ~870 yd cross-country · From Broadwater Lake — ~1.8 mi cross-country climb
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's about 6 miles, and the last 2 are off trail with 1,100 feet of climbing — 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, roughly 14.4 miles out. A thru-hike takes two vehicles: we left one at the Clarks Fork end of the Beaten Path, drove to the Lady of the Lake Trailhead in the other, and started walking. Set the shuttle rig before you leave, not after.

The hike

Coming off Sedge Lake, Dollar is about 870 yards of easy cross-country walking — call it fifteen minutes. You lose a little over a hundred feet crossing open forest benches, straightforward country even with a heavy pack. Dollar itself is small, about an acre, a quiet basin on the upper shelf before the country drops away toward the valley.

Tips & safety

• Fishing: FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat — the only one of these upper lakes without brook trout.

• Route: There's no trail here. The walking is easy, but you're navigating between Sedge and Dollar on your own.

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