Elephant Back Trailhead — Attraction in West Yellowstone

Hiked mid June 2025 10AM directly to the beautiful lake outlook and directly back to preserve time for a refreshing cold plunge at Sedge Bay. Pace yourself and take breaks if you are not in hiking Condition yet and you’ll be OK. Encountered a 70+ year old couple in active shape along the way. No snow was encountered after a moderate winter. There are a few steep short sections with a fairly steady assent but it can be hiked/run/walked in a good pair of tennis shoes. Trailhead is just a 100 yards south of the parking and signed. You will need to keep a sharp eye out to your right on the way up if you’re taking the loop around counter clockwise. We missed it, but noted it on...

Overall the trail is a Moderate plus hike. We are in our 70's and finished the 4 mile hike with reasonable rests on the way up the 600 foot incline. Definitely do the counter clockwise loop so the steeper part is on the way down. Use bug spray, and carry Bear Spray and electronic Bear Horn. View at the...

Great hike! Just the right amount of challenging. The trail itself is a tad rocky and it climbs pretty high - also It was hot as hell. So our legs got tired but that’s the whole point isn’t it?? And the view was awesome. We didn’t see any bears but we had the spray...