Blue Miner Lake Trail

Difficulty:  Strenuous       Trail Use:  Light

Length:  Grizzly Lake Trailhead to Blue Miner Lake- 9 miles, Jct with Grizzly Lake Trail to Blue Miner Lake – 4.5 miles

Elevation:   7020 ft at Trailhead, 7340 ft at jct, 9430 ft at lake

Open to:  Hikers, Equestrian

Trail Highlights:

• The trail begins at the kiosk and climbs up onto the sage brush hillside.  The trail continues up the hill where it comes into a large open sagebrush meadow offering great views of the Red Hills and the Tetons.
• The trail continues through a mixture of large open hillsides and patches of pine and aspen forest, crossing several small creeks, some of which do not have bridges.  Be prepared with river crossing shoes.
• The trail does a series of climbs and descents, following along the ranch property, until finally reaching a junction for Blue Miner Lake Trail.  Take a left here to head up to Blue Miner Lake.  Go straight to go down to Grizzly Lake.
• The trail climbs steeply up the ridge where it eventually levels out and follows the forested ridge up to the lake.  There are several spectacular viewpoints along this ridge of the drainage below and surrounding peaks.

Options

• There is only one junction on this trail and it exists about 4.5 miles up where you can go to either Grizzly Lake or Blue Miner Lake.
• From Blue Miner Lake, there are several small user trails that ascend the back side of Sheep Mountain (aka Sleeping Indian). The routes can be difficult to follow and may be snow covered for much of the spring, fall, and winter.  Know your route well before going.

Important Information

•  The majority of the Blue Miner Lake Trail is located within the Gros Ventre Wilderness.  The wilderness boundary exists just past the junction and is signed.  See restrictions link below for more info.
•  This trail is located on USGS quad maps for Grizzly Lake and Blue Miner Lake, 7.5 minute.
• Always check the posted information at the kiosks for maps, updated material on forest regulations and closures.

At a Glance