Heart Lake of Yellowstone NP. A hiker, backpacker and fisherman's dream come true.
Written: Jul 22 '02 (Updated Jul 22 '02)
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Pros: Beautiful scenery, spectacular wildlife, and a quiet like no other
Cons: Long hike, lots of bugs, and the occasional leech.
The Bottom Line: If you are searching for beautiful scenery, spectacular wildlife, and a quiet like no other place on earth then Heart Lake is for you.
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| wvabackpacker's Full Review: Yellowstone National Park |
If you are boater looking for somewhere new to boat, then you might as well find another article to read because this one is not for you. However, if you are a sightseer, hiker, backpacker, fisherman or any other type of person willing to do some work in order to see a beautiful lake untouched by any machines of man, then this article is for you!
Millions of people visit Yellowstone National Park each year and less than 1% of those millions really get to see the park. What do I mean? The backcountry of course—the backcountry is Yellowstone at its wildest. Most people would rather stay in their hotel or RV and see all the sights that everyone else sees, which I may add are worth viewing (like Old Fathful, Yellowstone Canyon, etc). However, a few unique people want to see the park in a way the majority of visitors don’t. This is where the work comes in.
Heart Lake of Yellowstone National Park is located near the south park entrance off of the West Thumb Rd. However, you’ll only find a trailhead there, no roads, so don’t plan on making a quick stop at this lake and moving on. This lake is only accessible by foot or horse and takes the good part of a day to reach.
-Bears, bears, and more bears…no not the cute cuddly kind….
First let me make a warning, the heart lake area is heavy Grizzly territory. So be sure to make all the necessary precautions when hiking on this trail. Make a lot of noise on the trail and keep your food out of your tent and backpack and up in a tree when camping. Be sure to keep an eye on your food if you’re fishing or just resting. Yellowstone rangers suggest not wearing the infamous “bear bell” since these bells have been known to instill curiosity in some bears and thus draw them close to the person wearing it. I like to call it a dinner bell.
-The trail to Heart Lake
The trail to Heart Lake is approximately 7.5 miles from the trailhead. It took my roommate and I seven hours to hike to the lake carrying 55lb loads, stopping for 10 minutes each hour, and stopping an hour for lunch. Hiking in is the easy part, hiking out is the hard part. The trail starts out in a lightly covered forest. This area was damaged severely in the fires of 88 and most of the foliage (aka shade) is gone. You’ll walk in and out of the forest for about 4.5 miles while climbing about 100ft in elevation gradually along the entire distance. There are many small hills that lightly move you up and down but for the most part you increase your elevation. There isn’t much to see on this part of the trail. A close up view of some burnt forest, a few streams, some grassy fields, etc.
After traversing the forest you reach some thermal features and get your first glimpse of the lake. The thermal feature we first encountered looked something like a large grey rock stained with red and brown and emitting a sulfur-like smell and steam. Another rock like this is viewable from the hill down to the right.
The lake is 2 miles from this location as the crow flies, but about 3 more miles by foot. Immediately at the thermal feature you begin descending down into the valley. The hill and valley are very exposed to the sun and there is very little foliage from this point on to shade you. Through several switchbacks the trail drops around 200 feet in a short distance. This area is what makes the hike back more difficult than the hike to the lake—the steep ascent. After descending down into the valley the trail passes by several more thermal features, one of which is a beautiful bubbling-blue thermal pond. Beautiful for pictures.
After passing the blue thermal pond you’ll follow a creak for a short distance and zigzag across the valley and up and down several small hills. This hike is out in the open so if you’re crossing it around noon, you’ll be hot.
Finally, you’ll see two small log cabins about 20 yards from the lake. These are ranger stations. After passing the ranger stations your hard work has paid off! You made it to Heart Lake!
-The Lake
Three miles before you reach the blue lake, you got your first glimpse. Once you reach the lake you get to see the crisp, clear, clean water for the first time close up. Go ahead, take a swim! The water is a little chilly (we visited in July) but after a long day of hiking, anyone would appreciate the water. Standing at the ranger station and looking south across the lake you see a green wooded conifer forest. If you wish to hike around the lake there is a trail that takes you down and through this forest. To the right when standing at the ranger station you will see several beautiful mountains very close to the lake. The biggest mountain is directly west of the lake and is named Mt. Sheridan. With binoculars you can see a small hut on top of this 10,400ft mountain. To the east in the far distance there are more mountains, all beautiful and covered in snow.
-Campsites
From the ranger station the nearest campsite is about ¾ of a mile. The farthest on the west side of the lake is about four miles. Camping is available to people with reservations only. You may obtain reservations prior to hiking at any ranger station for free. Most of the campsites are near the lake and do not permit fires. Several of the the campsites and the ranger stations have pit toilets. All of the campsites have poles to hang food and other smellable items on to keep them out of reach from grizzly bears. You are required to use these poles.
-Fishing
Can we say fishing paradise? Think of it this way. It’s a big lake. It’s an 8-mile hike to the lake and you must carry all of your gear. So basically what I’m saying is that most people aren’t willing to do that much work to catch some fish—meaning the lake is quite full of fish. Bears and the occasional man are the only predators that fish this lake. I fished a little and caught several nice sized fish. Fishing permits are available at any ranger stations for $10 for 10 days.
-Camera and film
Take lots of film (at least four rolls of 400 speed film) and extra batteries for your camera. I took a Canon SLR camera with a 28-80mm lens. I suggest carrying a second lens that will shoot at least 300mm for close-up shots of wildlife and scenery. I have tons of great pictures of the mountains, wildlife, the lake, flowers, and thermal pictures. This place is a photographers heaven.
-The Wildlife
Bears. Raaar! We saw two bears in the distance (this is why you need a good zoom camera) and heard a couple snooping around our campsite at night. We also encountered a herd of elk, several dear, tons of birds, eagles, etc, and four giant birds that walked upright and stood about 3-4 feet tall. Fish were visible in several of the streams and in the lake. A ranger we came across on the trail informed us of a nearby pack of wolves but we never encountered any wolves. Remember to never feed the wildlife. This means carrying your trash back out to your car so the animals don’t get into it.
-Water and bug spray
Well….I hate to do it but I must inform you that Heart Lake isn’t 100% paradise. Take bug spray and lots of it. Lakes and streams and marshes are famous breeding ground for bugs and mosquitoes. Bugs will bother you for about 5 miles of the trail and the entire time you are near the lake. When I say bother you, I’m talking about bugs by the hundreds. I have one other negative aspect and it concerns the lake water… Wear sandals and socks in the water. The water is clear, smells nice and has no pollution but it does have leeches. After discovering the leeches from our first barefoot swim, we found that if you swim with shoes on and socks the leeches stay off or attach themselves to your socks. Let me note that these leeches were very small and green in color and only attached themselves to our feet. The lake is still worth the hike and I would go back given the chance.
-The Yellowstone desert
The only other negative aspect of Heart Lake was the trail. As I stated earlier the fires of 88 burned away a lot of the foliage. Add July weather of 90 degrees and no rain for a week and you have a desert trail. Lots of dust. Lots of heat. Lots of sun. We joked on the hike home that it was the Yellowstone desert. Be sure to carry lots of water and a water purifier. Three to four liters should be adequate for a hot hike to or from the lake.
-People and quiet
Overall I suggest visiting Heart Lake. It’s the perfect place to get in touch with wildlife and out of touch with people and technology. The lake is clean, non-polluted, and full of fish. The mountains are beautiful, and the trail has some nice thermal features. For those of you who have lived in urban areas all of your life this is something completely different. There are no artificial lights to pollute the sky. You can see everything at night, all the stars, the milky way, and even some shooting stars—a view you can’t get anywhere else. There is also no noise pollution. I just loved sitting by the lake and listing to the sound of nothing (or the occasional animal). In addition to no lights and noise, there are very few people also. We ran across six people on our hike in, 10 on our hike out, and none around the lake. So if you want to really get away from it all, visit Heart Lake in Yellowstone National Park.
Remember, pack it in, pack it out. Don’t litter. Don’t feed any wildlife. Report bear sightings to rangers, respect nature and its beauty and most importantly: have fun!
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: Anytime
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Hiking & Trails
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Member: Jeremy Hays
Location: Columbus, OH, USA
Reviews written: 40
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Maybe I'll write another review someday...lots of new gear...
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