Montana trails · Chair Mtn. Trilobites
Chair Mtn. Trilobites
A 16.2-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 2,929 ft of climbing. Reaches Dean Lake and other lake/pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 5.4. It gives back about 2,151 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Dean Lake (lake)
- Switchback Pass (pass)
- Chair Mountain (summit)
- Trilobite Lakes (lake)
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:16 a.m., the sun rises at 6:48 a.m. and sets at 8:15 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:47 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 27 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 32.5-mile round trip works out to roughly 14 h 58 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Chair Mountain Trilobites — 11.8 mi
- Spotted Bear River — 13.4 mi
- Garnet Peak — 28.4 mi