No, You Don’t Need to Hike The Beaten Path This Year
Late last week I made the trek up to the former location of the Rimrock Lake bridge to get a first hand look at the roaring torrent of water leaving Rimrock Lake. The former bridge, along with many portions of the trail all the way to East Rosebud Lake, was wiped out in the historic flood of June 2022. The bridge was a key linkage allowing hikers to proceed safely along The Beaten Path, and without it, there is no safe way to cross the churning, fast-moving waters at the outlet of Rimrock Lake. As I stood over the raging waters (which were not yet even at peak levels), this was crystal clear.
And yet, hiking forums around southwest Montana and across the internet are constantly peppered with questions from Beaten-Path-fixated hikers looking for loopholes and keyboard-clacking commenters all-too-eager to try to provide them.
Here’s the inconvenient truth too many people need to hear right now:
Do not attempt to hike or travel the 2.5-mile section of USFS Trail #15—widely known as The Beaten Path—between Elk Lake and Rimrock Lake until the trail and bridge are fully rebuilt.
Tragically, on June 8, just three days after I visited the outlet, a young man was swept away while trying to cross the outlet at Rimrock Lake. You can read more about the ongoing recovery in the June 10 update from Red Lodge Fire and Rescue. The drone footage shared by Red Lodge Fire Rescue shows just how treacherous the outlet of Rimrock Lake is currently.
This heartbreaking incident comes less than a year after a nearly identical tragedy on July 12, 2024, when a 20-year-old Montana State University student fell in while scouting the trail for a future family hike. His body wasn’t recovered for weeks, once the water levels finally dropped.
The Forest Service is hard at work repairing the damaged trail and replacing the bridge. But this kind of major construction work takes time. In fact, a temporary road to reach East Rosebud wasn’t even completed until August 2023—417 days after the flood. Throughout summer 2024, the U.S. Forest Service undertook a monumental effort to re-establish the trail between East Rosebud and Elk Lake. But by fall, they had run out of time—and explosives. The next segment, from Elk Lake to Rimrock, was deferred until this summer.
Although crews are now focused near Elk Lake, the entire stretch remains an active construction zone. Workers are blasting rock, digging new tread, and rebuilding a safe, sustainable trail through incredibly rugged terrain. At the same time, volunteer Search and Rescue teams are risking injury and exhaustion in ongoing efforts to locate the missing hiker from June 8.
If past conditions hold, it could be another six weeks or more before water levels drop enough for the missing hiker to be located and recovered. And by then, crews will be racing against the return of winter to get the new bridge installed at Rimrock Lake.
This is where you come in.
If you attempt to hike through this section, all crews and responders must stop what they’re doing until you safely pass. That means every interruption slows down critical progress—for both the rebuild of the bridge and the search for the hiker.
The best way for you to hike The Beaten Path again as soon as possible is to avoid attempting the hike this year. Instead, let the Forest Service and emergency response teams do their work, uninterrupted and unimpeded by your presence. Only then will we get the bridge we need to hike safely, and will the family of the missing hiker get answers.
You do not need to hike The Beaten Path this year. Your patience helps speed up progress, reduce risk, and ensure the Beaten Path reopens safely for everyone.
Here’s what you can do:
Avoid traveling between Elk Lake and Rimrock Lake until the trail and bridge are complete.
Research other trips, and enjoy other parts of the nearly one-million-acre Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness until the work is done.
Consider an out-and-back hike on The Beaten Path from the Cooke City side.
Stay updated by following ABWF on social media and regularly checking this blog.