Wyoming trails · Shoshone Lake Trail

Shoshone Lake Trail

A 6.8-mile out-and-back in Wyoming, with 403 ft of climbing. Reaches Shield Geyser and other hot spring/pass/spring destinations. Managed by NPS – Yellowstone NP.

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Length

6.8 mi

Elevation gain

403 ft

Difficulty

Moderate

Max grade

18%

Steepest mile

+346 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

0.3 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Dogs

Bikes

Managed by

NPS – Yellowstone NP

Elevation profile

Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 74% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 2.3. It gives back about 262 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Shield Geyser (spring)
Shield Springs (spring)
Little Giant Geyser (spring)
Union Geyser (spring)
Little Bulger Geyser (spring)
Grants Pass (pass)
Taurus Spring (spring)
Bronze Geyser (spring)
Orion Group (spring)
Black Sulphur Spring (spring)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:14 a.m., the sun rises at 6:44 a.m. and sets at 8:01 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:31 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 13.7-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 28 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 12:12 p.m. — 7 h 49 min before sunset.