Our best hikes for the Madison area of Yellowstone National Park

This area offers excellent hiking just a short drive from the city of West Yellowstone, Montana, were you’ll find some of the best in Montana hotels, Montana vacation rentals and lodging, near some of the highlights of the park.

Yellowstone is where the wild things are.

Harlequin Lake: This hike offers an easy ascent through burned lodgepole forest to a marshy little lake popular with waterfowl (but not, despite the name, harlequin ducks). At just 1.5 miles, it’s great for a quick family hike. Bring mosquito repellent.

Purple Mountain: Hike up through burned patches of lodgepole forest and to reach a great views of Madison Junction, Firehole Valley and lower Gibbon Valley. This hike is moderate, at 6 miles round trip, and about 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

Two Ribbons Trail: Another great family trail, as it is boardwalked and just 1.5 miles total. The walk winds through burned lodgepole forests and sagebrush along the Madison River. Here you’ll have the opportunity to see buffalo and buffalo wallows.

Montana Vacations recommends speaking with Yellowstone National Park guides or park rangers before attempting hikes. We know we sound like your nanny, but really, wouldn’t you like to get the most up to date info on grizzly sitings, trail closures and extreme weather? It could mean the difference between a day spent in the car, or a day spent on the trail. Here’s a couple guides we recommend.

• Yellowstone-Glacier Adventures Inc. Grizzly Bear and Wolf Watching, Backcountry Fishing and Hiking, Bald Eagle and Trumpeter Swan Photography, Horseback Rides, and many other custom-designed Adventure Safaris are available from YGA. Call (406) 585-9041.
• Teton Science Schools have been teaching people about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 1967, and has educated, trained and inspired thousands of children and adults, bringing them together through the study of nature and its extension, place-based education. Get expert info on Yellowstone National Park, and get more out of your Montana vacation. Call (307) 733-1313.

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Top 5 hikes in the Norris region of Yellowstone National Park

The Norris area of Yellowstone National Park offers a variety of hiking opportunities just a short drive from West Yellowstone, Montana and Gardiner, Montana, and a reasonable drive from Bozeman, Montana. These towns offer great Montana hotels, lodging and vacation rentals, while keeping you close to one of Yellowstone’s best hiking areas. Here’s our top five, not to miss hikes for the Norris area.

1. Grizzly Lake: This trail passes through a lodgepole pine forest that burned in 1976 and 1988, beautiful meadows and takes you to the long, beautiful Grizzly Lake. The lake is long, narrow, and heavily wooded. The hike is popular with fishers due to a large population of small brook trout. It is four miles long, and not too difficult, with just a few steep hills to climb.
2. Solfatara Creek: The trail follows Solfatara Creek for a short distance to the junction with Ice Lake Trail, it then parallels a power line for most of the way to Whiterock Springs. This hike is short and easy, and passes by two beautiful thermal springs, Amphitheater Springs and Lemonade Creek (which, despite the name, you shouldn’t drink). The hike is normally uncrowded, and can offer the chance to see grizzlies.
3. Ice Lake Trail: This short, family friendly hike brings you to beautiful Ice Lake, nestled in a thick lodgepole pine forest, parts of which burned in 1988. Hikers with ambition can continue to Wolf Lake, Grebe Lake, and Cascade Lake, and then on to Canyon.
4. Wolf Lake Cut-off Trail: Follow this trail along the Gibbon River and pass the Little Gibbon Falls. After the falls, you’ll enter a dense lodgepole forest. Before reaching the amazing Wolf Lake, you’ll have to cross a couple narrow streams. The hike is moderate at a six mile round trip.
5. Cygnet Lakes Trail: The trail passes through patches of burned lodgepole pine forest and small marshy ponds to the wildflower-filled meadows of Cygnet Lakes. This is a day hike only, and is relatively easy at 5.5 miles with little elevation gain.

Montana Vacations recommends talking to a Yellowstone National Park guide, or a park ranger before attempting any hikes, in order to get up to date information on wildlife activity, trail closures, and extreme weather.

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Top 5 best Montana hikes near Yellowstone National Park town Gardiner

Gardiner, Montana, offers some of best hiking in Yellowstone National Park. This area of the park is known as “Mammoth,” also the name given to the enormous, surreal and colorful hot springs in the area. Here’s our top 5, not to miss hikes in this part of Montana. Nearby Gardiner offers great Montana hotels where you can kick back and relax afterward.

1. The Beaver Ponds Loop trail begins just north of Liberty Cap and the Mammoth Terraces, with a 350 foot (106.7 m) climb up and above Clematis Gulch, that eventually leads to a meadow. The hike, at 5 miles, is considered moderate in difficulty. Look for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, moose, beaver dams and lodges, the occasional beaver, and waterfowl. Be alert for bears: both black and grizzly bears forage in this area.
2. Bunsen Peak is a slightly shorter hike, at 4.2 miles, but has a 1,300 foot climb in that short distance. On this trail you’ll have the opportunity to see  spectacular views of the Blacktail Plateau, Swan Lake Flat, Gallatin Mountain Range, and the Yellowstone River Valley. You’ll also see the 150 foot tall Osprey Falls.
3. The Lava Creek hike is good for families, at only 3.5 miles in distance (an estimated 3-4 hours of hiking time). On this hike, you’ll have the chance to cross the Gardiner River by footbridge, and the possibility of seeing various wildlife.
4. Rescue Creek offers a more difficult hike at 8 miles (one way). On this hike you’ll cross a variety of terrains, from Blacktail Pond through aspens forests and meadows, then through forests to sagebrush flats that lead to a footbridge across the Gardiner River.
5. Sepulcher Mountain offers up a tough hike, with great rewards. The hike covers 11 miles, and rises 3,400 feet. You’ll pass through beautiful Yellowstone forests and meadows, before reaching the top of this 9,652 foot mountain, that offers a spectacular panoramic view of the park, great for Yellowstone National Park photography.

We always recommend checking in with a Yellowstone National Park tour guide or a park ranger to get the most up to day information on trail conditions, weather, trail closures and wildlife activity. Here’s a few we recommend.

• Yellowstone Yearround Adventures is a family owned business out of Gardiner that has been doing guided tours of Yellowstone National Park since 1997. The do Wildlife Tours, Geyser and Waterfall tours, Day Hikes and Snowshoe Treks. Call (406) 223-2601.
• Flying Pig Adventure Company another family owned Gardiner buisness, run by travel experts, this tour company does a mix of one, two and three day guided tours that focus on a mix of activities and sight seeing. A great way to get the most out of your Yellowstone vacation. Call (406) 848-7510.

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