Horse Butte Lake Trail

Total Miles 6.1
Technical Rating
4 Moderate
Best Time Summer, Fall, Spring
Trail Type Full-Width Road
Accessible By
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Trail Overview

In the West Yellowstone area and looking for something outside the park to do? How about a lake day? This is a primarily easy dirt trail with quite a few day-use areas on Hegben Lake. Some of the pull-offs are relatively private, with access right down to the water. The further along the trail you explore, the more beach-like the lake becomes. There is also an offshoot trail to a lookout tower above the lake. This trail does have some large potholes and ruts and can be muddy after a good rain. The trail runs right along the lake, and once it gets near the end and starts to turn into grassland. The trail gets narrow, rutted, and more difficult, and the trail becomes only one vehicle wide with few pullouts. This portion has a steeper uphill and downhill at the end and eventually ends at a little grassy spot on the other side of the lake. This is a day-use area, and no dispersed camping is allowed. Signs at different parts of the lake advise of Toxic algae. They caution not to swim in places where you spot any or let animals drink from those areas. Snowmobiling is also allowed on this trail in the winter. Two to three bars of LTE Cell service.

Photos of Horse Butte Lake Trail

Difficulty

The trail starts off easy but progresses into deep ruts, a steep climb, and decent and gets much more narrow. with seldom pullouts.

Technical Rating

4

Status Reports

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Sarah Tunget
May 24, 2026
Open
We explored Horse Butte Lake Trail in a stock 2025 Subaru Outback Premium and a stock 2017 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. For most of the route, the trail is easy and follows the shoreline with frequent access points to the lake. The scenery is nice, but much of it can also be enjoyed from the paved road that circles Hebgen Lake. The trail remains relatively easy until the final mile, where it becomes narrower, rougher, and more deeply rutted. High ground clearance is recommended for this section. Our Subaru scraped its underbody several times, while the Renegade handled the rougher terrain more comfortably. The biggest challenge during our visit was not the trail itself but the heavy SxS traffic. Rental machines frequently came around blind corners at high speed, making it important to stay alert and drive cautiously, especially on the narrower one-lane sections with limited pullouts. Overall, if your primary goal is lake views, the main highway around Hebgen Lake offers similar scenery with far less risk.
Ben Taylor
May 07, 2024
Open
Went out yesterday. In a stock 4runner. easy and could be done in any car with good ground clearances. the last mile is a little tough with about 6" pot holes. nothing crazy. Watch for muddy spots and one cool water crossing with rocky bottom closer to the end.
Kyle Goudreau
Sep 05, 2023
Open

Horse Butte Lake Trail Trail can be accessed by the following ride types:

  • Single Track
  • 50 Inch
  • 60 Inch
  • High Clearance
  • Full Width

Horse Butte Lake Trail Map

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