Nugget Lake

Drainage: West Rosebud
Approaches: Mystic Lake Trailhead — 10.3 mi, about 3,370 ft up · From Silver Lake — about 2.1 mi · From Beckwourth Lake — about 0.45 mi south-southwest, following the inlet stream

Elevation: 9,394 feet
Fish: Yellowstone cutthroat (FWP)
Coordinates: 45.20692, -109.89637
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.

Nugget is about ten miles in with roughly 3,370 feet of climbing. We reached it as the third lake of a long day out of a camp at Silver Lake, a little after noon.

The hike

Beckwourth is where the trail system ends. From there it is a short climb South to Nugget, under half a mile, and it took us about 45 minutes.

Follow the inlet stream. That is the whole navigation problem solved. Rather than picking a line across open ground, work straight up the drainage and the water carries you out onto the Nugget shoreline. It is the simplest route finding on this loop and worth doing deliberately, because the ground either side of it is less obliging.

Nugget is 8.9 acres at 9,394 feet, the highest lake on this loop. FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat, and the fishing was decent with most fish running six to eight inches.

Brown Lake is the next and last stop on the loop, well below and to the east.

Tips & safety

• Follow the inlet stream up from Beckwourth. It is the cleanest line to the lake and it removes the guesswork.

• Terrain: you are walking alongside moving water on off-trail ground. Loose rock and slick soil near the banks are the thing to watch.

• Camping: there is good ground around the shoreline and it makes a quiet high camp. At 9,394 feet you are near the upper limit of shelter here, so expect exposure to match.

• Fishing: FWP lists Yellowstone cutthroat. Six to eight inch fish were typical for us.