Backpack the Gallatin Mountains Sky Rim Trail
Backpack the Gallatin Mountains: Yellowstone’s Sky Rim Trail
The Sky Rim Trail in the Gallatin Mountains of Yellowstone National Park is a stunner. This tour is a famous Yellowstone route. The summer sun melts the snow on the big mountain peaks. Now is the time to access the fabled alpine “high country.” Big blooms of wildflowers reflect in dazzling lakes atop Yellowstone’s Gallatin Range. It adds up to a feeling of being on top of the world. Rich wildlife sightings abound in this rarely visited corner of the park. Let Yellowstone Hiking Guides show you a favorite local trek. This tour is in the northwest corner of Yellowstone near Big Sky and West Yellowstone.
$1,750 per person
5 Days/ 4 Nights
35+ miles
4-9 miles per day
1,500-foot gain on hardest day, 500-foot gain on easiest day
Group size 8
Gear discounts
Top-of-the-Line Gear Provided
by Yellowstone Hiking Guides
Itinerary 2023
July 17-21 & July 24-28
Professional Backcountry Naturalist Guides
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
July 16 & 23, Pre-Trip Meeting:
We meet in West Yellowstone, Montana at 6PM the night prior to trip departure. We hand out gear, food bags and conduct a pre-trip briefing.
Meeting Location: West Yellowstone, MT 6PM
July 17 & 24, Day 1:
We meet at 7:30AM for a 45-minute drive to the trailhead at Specimen Creek. The first day’s hike takes us up Specimen Creek giving us a chance to acclimate. We camp near Specimen Creek with the sounds of crystal clear water running down the mountains. This area is home to grizzly bear and moose amongst other unique Yellowstone wildlife.
Distance: 5 miles
Endless streams in Yellowstone’s backcountry
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
Meals prepared by your guide over the fire/stove
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
July 18 & 25, Day 2:
Enjoy a hot breakfast over the crackling morning fire, before we pack up camp and backpacks to proceed into Yellowstone’s high country. Tonight’s camp will be located at the famed Crescent Lake, a subalpine gem. Rest up or take a day hike around the lake, more high country ups and downs await.
Distance: 4 miles
July 19 & 26, Day 3:
This is one of the great hikes out of all the tour routes in Yellowstone National Park. We traverse along the North Fork of Specimen Creek in the Gallatin Mountains before dropping down into Shelf Lake. This is the staging point to begin the Sky Rim Trail of Yellowstone National Park.
Distance: 4 miles
Backpacking Yellowstone’s Gallatin Mountains
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
Wildlife on the Trail in Yellowstone
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
July 20 & 27, Day 4:
Today we depart at first light to hike the high, exposed Sky Rim Trail. Explore fields of wildflowers surrounded by big Montana mountain peaks. We will cross over Big Horn Peak and continue on the Sky Rim Trail to Daly Creek at Yellowstone’s northern boundary. We drop down off of the Sky Rim to Daly Creek’s only camp.
Distance: 9 miles
Wildflowers Along the Trail to Yellowstone’s Sky Rim
with Yellowstone Hiking Guides
July 21 & 28, Day 5:
Today we will have our last breakfast over the fire before we hike out along Daly Creek. We are not out of the woods yet. This part of Yellowstone is home to a lot of rare wildlife. Once we hit the trailhead say goodbye to the bears, bugs, and mud. It’s been fun, but time for a hot shower!
Distance: 4 miles