Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the 1920s, citizens and Milwaukee Road officials were eyeing the Bighorn Pass Trail
route as an attractive place to build a road or a railroad. We must thank the first director of
the National Park Service (NPS), Stephen Mather, and Yellowstone Park Superintendent Hor-
ace Albright for their foresight in objecting to these plans. Long before designated wilderness
areas were thought of, Mather wrote to Albright: “We must keep a large area of Yellowstone
in a state of untouched wildness if we are to be faithful to our trust as protectors of the wild
life with which the park abounds.” The road was not built, nor was the railroad company even
allowed to conduct a survey.
12.0/8.5 Divide Lake,
at an elevation of about 7,250 feet (2,210 m), takes its name from the
fact that water flows from this vicinity into two different watersheds. To the north all streams
flow to the Gallatin River, while to the south they flow to the Madison River. These rivers
(along with the Jefferson River) join to form the Missouri River, and their waters eventually
flow to the Atlantic Ocean.
14.0/6.5 Pass Creek
and
Grayling Creek
join here. U.S. 191 parallels Grayling Creek until
that creek's southern exit from the park, crossing it three or four times. The old road crossed
the creek even more times, to avoid having to excavate the sidehills.
The road skirts a severely burned area at the northwestern reach of the 1988 North Fork
fire.
20.3/0.2
Tepee Creek crossing.
20.5/0.0
Yellowstone National Park boundary. Here U.S. 191 leaves the park.
From Outside the Park Boundary to West Yellowstone
From here U.S. 191 descends into the valley of the Madison River and reaches the town of
West Yellowstone and the West Entrance in about 11 miles (18 km). Off to the west and south-
west, you may see parts of the Snowcrest, Centennial, and Henry's Lake Ranges beyond Heb-
gen Lake. To the east is the high but relatively flat and tree-covered Yellowstone Plateau.
At 1.4 miles (2.3 km) outside the park boundary and about 9.5 miles (15 km) north of
West Yellowstone is the parking area for the
Gneiss Creek Trailhead,
next to the private Fir
Ridge Cemetery road. This long trail is described from the other end at mile 7.6/6.3 on the
West Entrance Road.
At the nearby junction with U.S. 287, you can take a side trip of less than 20 miles (32 km)
to visit Hebgen Lake and Quake Lake, where you can see a remarkable landslide and learn
about the devastating earthquake of 1959. In 8 miles (13 km) more on U.S. 191, you pass
