Lake Mary

Drainage: Rock Creek
Approaches: West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead, approximately 12 mi round trip; roughly 2,100 ft of climbing. On trail the whole way
Elevation: 10,007 feet
Fish: Brook trout (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.15183, -109.56441
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

The West Fork Rock Creek Trailhead sits southwest of Red Lodge at the end of the West Fork road. Follow good trail about five miles to Quinnebaugh Meadows. From the meadows the trail turns north and climbs steeply for roughly another mile to the lake.

It is on trail the whole way, which separates Lake Mary from Dude and Senal southwest of here. Those two sit in a different basin behind a ridge and take an off-trail climb up an outlet stream to reach.

The hike

The first five miles to Quinnebaugh Meadows are easy walking and they go by fast. The last mile is the work, a steep pull north out of the meadows, and it accounts for most of the day's climbing.

We did this one in a day. It goes, but it is a full day out and back, and there is nothing casual about the last mile. If you are adding the Dude and Senal branch on the same trip, plan on closer to fifteen miles by the time you are back at the truck.

Lake Mary sits at 10,007 feet on roughly seven and a half acres, running about eighteen feet deep on average and around fifty at the deepest. Little Mary Lake is two tenths of a mile southeast and about sixty feet lower, close enough that there is no reason to skip it once you are up here.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: on trail the whole way. The turn north comes at Quinnebaugh Meadows, and once you make it the trail climbs steadily to the lake.

• Camping: there is camping near the outlet with some firewood available, which makes Lake Mary a better overnight than Dude or Senal southwest of here. Both of those sit above timberline with poor sites and no wood.

• Fishing: brook trout (FWP), abundant and self-sustaining. They were planted in 1934 and 1938 and have held on since without any help. The population swings from year to year. The 2021 survey found ten fish averaging about twelve inches, and the crew reported slow fishing for larger than average brookies.

• Bugs: minimal on our visit.

• Berries: Keep an eye out for wild strawberries they where pretty plentiful on this journey