Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness

The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness sits just north of Yellowstone National Park in south central Montana, with a small portion in northern Wyoming. It is home to Montana's tallest peak, the steep rocky mass known as Granite Peak — at 12,799 feet it towers above the Beartooth Plateau and anchors the Beartooth Range, higher and more rugged than the Absarokas, with many peaks exceeding 12,000 feet. High granitic alpine plateaus dominate: a starkly beautiful country of expansive views, hidden lakes among bald rocks, and wildly unpredictable weather. Cold and wind may strike any day of the year. The Beartooth portion is vast, treeless plateau falling off sharply into surrounding canyons. Its lakes are numerous, small, and tucked high into glacial cirques. Boulder-strewn Beartooth Plateau lies between 9,000 and 10,000 feet below bare crags and peaks streaked with red and yellow, cut by deep canyons and carpeted in wildflowers when the snow melts in early July — an extremely fragile environment with large expanses of tundra habitat rare to the lower 48 states. The Absarokas, by contrast, have ample vegetative cover: dense forests and broad mountain meadows crossed by meandering streams, with Mt. Cowan topping out at 11,206 feet. The Crow Indians called themselves Absarokas, and the range takes its name from them. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats roam the rugged Absaroka country along with elk, deer, moose, marmots, coyotes, black bears, wolves and a substantial grizzly population; the harsher Beartooths accommodate far fewer animals. Lakes and streams in both ranges are rich in trout, and the air teems with mosquitoes in summer. More than 700 miles of hiking trails provide access, often under snow until early July, and both ranges offer opportunities to wander off-trail. Wilderness pack trips have a long history here, often supported by outfitters. Designated in 1978 and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Approximately 913,408 acres lie in Montana and 23,694 acres in Wyoming.