Highlights:
Gentle backcountry with good fishing.
Location: 45 miles south of Bozeman.
Type of hike: A long out-and-back day hike or easy backpacking trip.
Total distance: 12 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Best months: June through September.
Maps:
Sunshine Point, Lone Indian Peak, Ramshorn Peak USGS Quads; and Gallatin
National Forest Map.
Finding the trailhead: From Big Sky, drive south
on U.S. Highway 191 for 10 miles. Watch for a sign to 320 Guest Ranch on
the left (east) side of the highway. You can see the guest ranch from the
road. Follow this gravel road through the ranch to the trailhead at the
end of the road.
Parking & trailhead facilities: Limited parking, do not block the road and respect private land.
The hike: This area isn't scenic in the same sense as the Mission Mountains or Glacier National Park. It offers more of a gentle, quiet beauty, not rugged peaks carved by glaciers.
From the trailhead, take Trail 1 and then Trail
160 for a gradual uphill climb for 6 miles to Ramshorn Lake, a fairly easy
hike except, perhaps, the last mile where the trail gains elevation rapidly.
The trail goes through heavy timber most of the way and crosses a few open
parks. It follows Buffalo Horn Creek most of the way to the lake.
Ramshorn Lake has all sizes of cutthroat trout,
including some over 3 pounds, which are hard to catch. Although the area
doesn't seem to support many deer, elk are everywhere. Also watch for bighorn
sheep, moose, and black bears. Since Ramshorn Lake lies just north of Yellowstone
National Park, a few grizzly bears inhabit the area.
For rock climbers, 10,269-foot Ramshorn Peak (just
east of the lake) offers an easy scramble. The trail brings hikers into
the Porcupine-Buffalo Horn-Hyalite Wilderness Study Area.
-Originally contributed by Bill Cunningham
