Montana trails · High Lakes
High Lakes
A 15.5-mile out-and-back in Montana, with 2,151 ft of climbing. Reaches Second Lower Falls Creek Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 60% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 5.2. It gives back about 3,684 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Second Lower Falls Creek Lake (lake)
- Upper Falls Creek Lake (lake)
- Cherry Lake (lake)
- Little Brother Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
High Lakes access. 45.45880, -111.57336 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:15 a.m., the sun rises at 6:46 a.m. and sets at 8:06 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:36 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 31.0-mile round trip works out to roughly 13 h 38 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Falls Creek Trail + High Lakes + Falls Creek — 14.3 mi loop, 2,537 ft gain
- High Lakes + Cherry Lake + CHERRY CREEK — 11.1 mi loop, 2,428 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Indian Ridge — 16.1 mi
- Indian Ridge Trail — 16.1 mi
- Tobacco Root — 18.5 mi
- Hyalite Creek — 29.7 mi