T Lake

Drainage: Clarks Fork (WY)
Approaches: Clay Butte Trailhead, approximately 8.5 mi round trip; roughly 1,850 ft of climbing along the way. On trail, then a short walk off it · From Native Lake, approximately 0.6 mi northeast
Elevation: 9,871 feet
Fish: No WYG&F data
Coordinates: 44.99375, -109.60680
Bugs: Minimal on our visit

Getting there

The Clay Butte Trailhead sits off US 212 west of the Beartooth Lake turnoff, up the gravel Clay Butte Road toward the lookout tower. The signed trailhead is on the left just before a hairpin switchback, at approximately 9,555 feet.

The trail drops roughly 345 feet over the first mile and a half, then climbs north past Native Lake at about three miles. T Lake sits approximately six tenths of a mile northeast of Native, a short walk east off the main trail.

The hike

Approximately four miles from the trailhead with roughly 1,850 feet of climbing along the way. The trail runs a couple hundred metres west of the water, so this one takes a short walk off the line to reach.

At around thirteen acres, T Lake is the largest in this group by a good margin. Everything else nearby is under ten acres and most are under five. Trey sits about two tenths of a mile northwest, Ace three tenths west, Surprise just under half a mile west.

Tips & safety

• Navigation: on trail to the cluster, then a short walk east. This is open plateau with clear sightlines, so the lake is visible before you leave the trail.

• Camping: we did not camp at T Lake, so this is terrain description and not a site report. It sits on open ground above the trees with no shelter, though at thirteen acres there is more room to spread out here than at the small lakes nearby. We carried on north and camped higher.

• Fishing: no WYG&F data. Wyoming's stocking database has no record for T Lake. It is the biggest water in this cluster, which makes the absence of any published record more notable here than at the small ones.

• Bugs: minimal on our visit.