Island Lake (West Rosebud)

Drainage: West Rosebud
Approaches: Mystic Lake Trailhead — 5.4 mi, all on trail; about 1,750 ft up · From Mystic Lake — about 2.1 mi along the shoreline

Elevation: 7,734 feet
Fish: Rainbow trout (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.22213, -109.81824
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.

Five and a half miles on maintained trail with about 1,750 feet of climbing. Most of the climbing is done before you reach Mystic.

The hike

Once you top out at the Mystic overlook the hard part is behind you. Mystic is three miles long, and the trail runs alongside it for the whole of that. It is a long, level, beautiful walk rather than a climb, and it took us an hour and a half from the overlook to Island.

Island sits at the upper end of Mystic, essentially where the big lake stops. It is 170 acres at 7,734 feet, large enough to be a destination on its own rather than a waypoint. FWP lists rainbow trout.

This is also the gateway. Everything further up the drainage, Silver and the lakes above it, runs through here.

Tips & safety

• Most of the work is the first stretch. The climb to the Mystic overlook is where the elevation is. After that it is three miles of shoreline walking on good tread.

• A realistic first backpacking night. The trail is maintained the whole way and the second half is nearly flat, which makes this a reasonable target for a group easing into it or staging further up.

• Fishing: FWP lists rainbow trout.

• Camping: Island sits at 7,734 feet on the valley floor in timber, so there is real wind shelter here and a lot of shoreline to work with at 170 acres. It is far enough in to feel remote and easy enough to reach that you arrive with something left.