On my last day hiking in the Beartooth Mountains, I decided to drive a little ways to a different part of the range to hike to Rimrock Lake. The pictures I had seen of this turquoise alpine lake looked stunning, and I knew I had to attempt the hike while I was in the area. I don’t exactly get to Montana all the time!
At a bit over 12 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing, this trail isn’t especially difficult, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack in lots of great views! You’ll hike to and past 3 different lakes, multiple waterfalls, and through brutal rocky canyons, and while this trail has tons to offer, it’s out of the way location mean you won’t be swarmed with people!
Miles/Elevation:
12.3 miles
2,125 feet vertical gain
About Custer National Forest:
Primarily located in southern Montana, Custer National Forest encompasses nearly 1.3 million acres of wild land. While most of the forest’s land can be found in south-central Montana, the forest does contain exclaves in south eastern Montana and South Dakota.
Jointly run with Gallatin National Forest as Custer-Gallatin, the combined area of the two exceeds 3 million acres. The forests include numerous wilderness areas that encompass hills, highlands, and high mountain ranges, perhaps most notably the Beartooths along the Montana-Wyoming border.
There are numerous campsites located throughout Custer-Gallatin National Forest, both dispersed and organized. Most use areas do not require fees.
Getting To The Trailhead:
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
The trailhead accessing Rimrock Lake is outside a small community called Alpine about an hour west of Red Lodge Montana, on the northern edge of the Beartooth Mountains. From either I-90 or Red Lodge, take highway 78 towards the town of Roscoe.
Once in Roscoe, turn off the highway onto East Rosebud Road. Continue on East Rosebud Road out of Roscoe towards the mountains. E Rosebud alternates between paved and gravel as you approach the mountains. The gravel isn’t too terrible, and my S2000 did make it just fine, but I would prefer not to take my car to this trailhead again! It is reachable for pretty much any vehicle though.
The community of Alpine is about 14 miles from Roscoe along E Rosebud. There are a few intersections, be sure to stay on E Rosebud at each one. Once you arrive in the community of Alpine, again stay on E Rosebud, skirting the outskirts of the town. The trailhead, the East Rosebud Trailhead, is at the end of the road. There is a decently large gravel parking lot at the trailhead.
Rimrock Lake Trail:
To Elk Lake:
This is grizzly country so make sure you are bear safe!
At the trailhead, you will already have nice views overlooking East Rosebud Lake and the peaks beyond; however, the trail itself almost immediately heads into the forest. Follow the trail into the trees, remaining largely in the forest all the way to the far end of East Rosebud Lake. Don’t worry, the forest is nice, and you’ll actually have some views looking nearly straight up at the ridges above!
At the far end of East Rosebud Lake, there’s an overlook on the trail that provides an excellent view looking back over the lake as well as further up the valley! From the overlook, head down towards the creek, and then begin the hike up the valley!
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
The creek running through this valley, shockingly named East Rosebud Creek (crazy I know) will be your constant companion throughout this hike. It will lead you to the alpine lakes at the upper end of this hike, and it’s falls and cascades will be the soundtrack of your day!
Once you’re hiking along the creek, it turns into a gigantic cascade, tumbling down the valley. I don’t think I’d call it a waterfall necessarily, but the water is constantly tumbling down, losing elevation, as it bounces between it’s rocky banks. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a cool thing to hike next to!
While the water is nice to look at, the things that really drew my attention were the jagged ridgelines high above. This is a really cool valley, and the walls leading out are seriously rugged! It’s a bit bizarre though because while you’re looking up at these crazy ridges and spires, they’re actually just the backside of the nearly 12,000 foot Sylvan Peak.
The glacial history of the mountains here means these incredible valleys are basically carved out of the broad mountains above, so while it looks incredible, you actually aren’t looking at a ton of different independent peaks! The ridges are the sides of broad alpine plateaus.
Make sure you visit Glacier National Park if you are visiting Montana!
After a fairly easy 3 miles, you’ll arrive at Elk Lake. Elk Lake itself would be a worthy final destination on most hikes! Situated beneath towering stone towers and vertical big walls, the views here are pretty epic! There’s even a nice beach to hang out at and have your breakfast, which is exactly what I did before continuing towards Rimrock Lake!
To Rimrock Lake:
From the beach on Elk Lake, head back to the trail and traverse around the left flank of Elk Lake. Beyond the lake, the trail encounters one of my least favorite things: overgrown plants.
I don’t know exactly why, but I honestly hate hiking through overgrown trails. I don’t like the thought of what bugs are probably on those plants (getting on you), and a lot of plants give you nasty rashes. Long story short, I don’t like when I have to walk through a tunnel of overgrown greenery!
However, the trail enters a pretty long section of overgrown crap after leaving Elk Lake, so you just have to deal with it! At least the views looking up are still good, so you’ve got that going for you, which is nice!
After hiking through the overgrown junk for a mile or so, you’ll emerge at the beginning of a new environment: a rocky, boulder strewn, canyon.
This canyon is a really cool place to hike through! Pretty much as soon as you enter this new environment you’ll be able to see the target, a waterfall emerging out of the trees far in the distance, so you always have a target in mind. The trees up there basically mark the end of the climb!
Traveling up canyon, the creek will still be on your right, but rather than hiking through pine forests, you’ll be hiking across barren rock. The views change too. Rather than looking across the tops of pines towards vertical rock walls in the distance, you are now directly under those rock walls, surrounded by rock that has previously fallen off those walls!
I really enjoyed hiking through this section of the trail, and to make it even better, the incline really is pretty nice: steep enough that you feel it and know you’re making progress, but gentle enough to not burn you out!
Near the base of the final waterfall/cascade coming out of the trees, the trail switches back and takes a slightly steeper angle upwards. There aren’t many switchbacks though, and within a couple of minutes, you’ll be back in the trees again. Keep hiking for a couple hundred yards, and Rimrock Lake will emerge beneath you!
When you first see Rimrock Lake, you’ll actually be about 100 feet above the water’s surface, giving you a good vantage to see the lake. The lake itself is actually smaller than I expected. It’s really kind of just jammed into a narrow hanging valley above the rocky canyon. It honestly looks like it’s a reservoir, but there isn’t a dam, just a narrow outlet!
The trail descends down to the water and a wooden bridge crossing the outlet stream. Here, I sat down for another snack break, and admired the lake! This place certainly is pretty, and there are big mountains off in the distance.
Maybe it was the overcast weather, but I just didn’t really think it was that great, this place didn’t connect with me for some reason. Maybe the water just wasn’t shining right with the clouds, or maybe it was the abnormally high humidity, but I just wasn’t that impressed by Rimrock Lake. Honestly, I think Elk Lake is a prettier lake than Rimrock.
Hiking Out:
From Rimrock, the descent back to the trailhead is about as straightforward as it gets. There isn’t a single trail intersection, so just follow the trail all the way back!
Other than the overgrown mile above Elk Lake, the trail itself is pretty nice, so the hiking passes quickly. Other than a cow moose sighting in the distance, I don’t really have anything to report about the descent! The sky cleared for a few minutes about half an hour after I left Rimrock, but quickly clouded over again. Other than that, it was an easy but uneventful hike out.
Back at the trailhead, I got back in the car and steeled myself for the long drive on gravel roads back to the highway. I hate taking my car on gravel, and while I hurried a bit to reach the trailhead, I had no reason to hurry now; I took it nice and slow!
Post hike, definitely stop at The Grizzly Bar, an awesome little bar/restaurant/steakhouse on the way out! It’s in Roscoe just off the highway, so you’ll drive past it on your way out. Great food and super friendly people!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 8/10
I might have come into this hike with too high of expectations, because even when I look back at some of the best photos I took, I can’t help but be disappointed. The pictures I saw online that made me want to do this hike make the lake look so stunning, but in person, it just wasn’t.
I will admit that the weather wasn’t ideal, so perhaps with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast I would have had a better experience, but as it stands I just wasn’t wowed by this trail. On paper, I feel like this should be a 9/10: awesome final destination, multiple lakes, good trail, exposed sections. It has everything! But for me, it just didn’t quite live up to what I had expected.
Maybe it’s my fault for expecting too much, but I can’t give this trail more than an 8/10. Worth doing, but not a great. Still a very good hike if you get the chance though!
Pros:
- Multiple alpine lakes
- Excellent views throughout
- Fun, somewhat exposed, sections of trail
- Wildlife
Cons:
- Lakes are good not great
- No truly special views
Alternative Hikes:
Quinnebaugh Meadows and Sundance Lake
When to Hike to Rimrock Lake:
This trail will take you to nearly 8,000 feet in a northern state, so the biggest factor to consider is snow. There will likely be snow here until well into May, and probably into June. Peak hiking season in Montana is July and August, but you should be able to hike to Quinnebaugh Meadows from June to September or October.
I generally prefer hiking early in the season, but all I can say is the best time to hike this loop is once the snow has melted. Whether that’s May or June is impossible to say. Keep an eye on the conditions, or just wait until late June and you should be good pretty much any year! Although, the fall colors here would be awesome!
Links for Further Reading:
Rimrock Lake – Montana | AllTrails.
Rimrock Lake | Beartooth Mountains- BRI SUL | Hiking and Adventure
