Sylvan Lake

Drainage: East Rosebud
Approaches: Approximately 10.5 miles round trip from the Sylvan Lake trailhead east of East Rosebud Lake, with roughly 3,200 feet of climbing. All on trail.
Elevation: 9,184 feet
Fish: Golden trout, abundant and self-sustaining. Montana FWP.
Coordinates: 45.18868, -109.58802
Bugs: Black flies, and a lot of them.

Getting there

This leaves from East Rosebud but not on the Beaten Path. The Sylvan Lake trail is #13 and the trailhead sits east of East Rosebud Lake.

The sign calls it 5 miles to Sylvan and 6 to Crow, and the sign is right. It walked a little over 5. FWP publishes 6.5, which runs long.

It is trail the whole way and about 3,200 feet of climbing. Not hard climbing, just a lot of uphill, and it is pretty the whole way. We were at the lake by half past three, left at six, and were back at the truck by twenty-five past eight.

We did not make Crow.

The hike

Sylvan is the state's golden trout brood lake. Montana FWP takes eggs out of here to stock goldens in other waters across the range, in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017 and 2024. If you have caught a golden anywhere else in the Beartooths, there is a fair chance it started in this lake.

The population holds up under it. FWP sampled 20 fish during the 2025 egg take averaging 10.5 inches with the biggest at 13.1, and 29 in 2017 averaging 9.5. Their note is that the population is thriving and could stand some harvest.

The lake is 18.5 acres, 40 feet at the deepest and 16 on average.

There is a snowbank on one side of the lake that has collapsed in on itself. Looking up the canyon above there is a lot of snow still holding and some good water coming down out of it. The timber around the lake is older growth but small.

FWP puts the best camping a quarter mile below the lake, with fuel down there rather than at the water.

The black flies are the thing. At one point there were fifty of them on my feet.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: Trail #13 the whole way from the trailhead east of East Rosebud Lake. No route-finding.

• Camping: FWP calls it excellent camping with fuel a quarter mile below the lake rather than at it.

• Fishing: Abundant self-sustaining goldens running 9 to 11 inches with fish to 13. FWP says the population could stand some harvest.

• Bugs: Black flies in numbers. Fifty on my feet at once.

• Mileage: The sign says 5 and the sign is right. FWP's 6.5 runs long.