Hiking the Elephant Back Mountain Trail in Yellowstone National Park
Distance: 4.2 miles / 6.8 km
Elevation Gain: ~800 ft. / 244 m
The Elephant Back Mountain Trail, often shortened to the Elephant Back Trail, in Yellowstone National Park is a mostly forested day hike near Yellowstone Lake that climbs the cliffs above Lake Village to several beautiful viewpoints along the upper loop!
That said, the views are somewhat limited on the Elephant Back Trail, which is one reason why it one of the least-visited trails in Yellowstone National Park. However, this is exactly what I believe sets Elephant Back Mountain apart—especially as an early morning adventure! I say this because cool summer mornings around Yellowstone Lake are typically very calm and quiet, making it a great way to start the day before moving on to other nearby destinations, such as the West Thumb Geyser Basin.
All this to say, if you’re staying at Lake Lodge or Yellowstone Lake Hotel, just across the road, I highly recommend adding the Elephant Back Trail to your Yellowstone bucket list, as the trail is not too difficult nor too long, making Elephant Back Mountain a really fun, family-friendly Yellowstone adventure!
Elephant Back Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Elephant Back Trail is located in one of two pull-offs directly alongside Grand Loop Road, about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) east from the turn into Lake Village.
Alternatively, hikers can begin hiking from Lake Village and walk across Grand Loop Trail, but this route is most commonly hiked by those staying at Lake Lodge or the Yellowstone Lake Hotel.
Google Maps Directions: Elephant Back Mountain Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Yellowstone–Tetons
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in the Yellowstone–Teton area.
Hiking the Elephant Back Mountain Trail
From the closest parking area on the north side of Grand Loop Road, the Elephant Back Mountain Trail heads west along the road until it turns sharply into the trees at about the 0.1-mile (0.2 km) mark.
When the Elephant Back Trail enters the forest after turning away from Grand Loop Road, the trail will remain in the trees for the rest of the hike until it returns to this point.
This is why the views on the Elephant Back Mountain Trail are a bit limited, and as a result, very few visitors choose to hike the trail. However, this is why I think the hike is such a hidden gem in Yellowstone—especially first thing in the morning, as shown here!
Elephant Back Mountain-Lake Village Junction
After just a few steps, the Elephant Back Mountain Trail passes the connection with Lake Village.
This is the only side trail on the entire hike.
That said, go straight (right) to continue hiking up toward the start of the loop, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) from this point.
This clearing for the power lines on the north side of Yellowstone Lake is always nice to see again on the hike back, as the trailhead is only 0.3 miles (0.5 km) away from this point!
If one thing stands out more than anything else, I hope it’s just how dense the Lodgepole Pine forests across Yellowstone truly are!
I mention this because seeing long distances is almost never easy, which hopefully highlights the need to hike with bear spray on all trails in the Yellowstone–Teton area.
That said, Yellowstone Lake and Sylvan Pass up the road are notorious for Grizzly Bear sightings. In fact, Grizzlies can even be seen in certain areas on Google Maps around the lake—I’m not kidding!
This is all to say, hike prepared, including knowing how to identify the differences between Black Bears and Grizzlies and understanding how to react accordingly.
The bottom of this steeper hill is a nice sign that both the trailhead and the start of the Elephant Back Loop are roughly 0.5 miles (0.8 km) away in either direction.
The start of this second, much shorter hill is a nice sign that the Elephant Back Loop is only 0.25 miles (0.4 km) away!
Elephant Back Mountain Loop Trail
After exactly 1.0 miles (1.6 km), the Elephant Back Mountain Trail splits, beginning the 2.2-mile (3.5 km) loop along the uppermost elevations of the hike.
In my opinion, it doesn’t make too much of a difference which direction you decide to hike the loop, but the general way to think about the hike is that the switchbacks to the right (east) are shorter and steeper, while the switchbacks to the left (west) are slightly longer and more gradual.
Personally, I like to go left, not only because it’s the easier 'half' of the Elephant Back Loop, but also because there are a few small viewpoints on the way up that are nice to slow down and enjoy!
Regarding my thoughts above, I chose to go left in the clockwise direction around the Elephant Back Loop Trail.
This is the very bottom of the four switchbacks on the west side of the loop.
This is where the Elephant Back Mountain Trail turns the first of four switchbacks on the west side of the loop.
After roughly 1.9 miles (3.1 km), the Elephant Back Trail passes the very first viewpoint when hiking the loop clockwise, as shown here!
Since there is so much rapid elevation change on the switchbacks up Elephant Back Mountain, some hikers may want to bring trekking poles—something that can certainly be useful on countless different adventures across Yellowstone National Park.
This is the third of four switchbacks on the west side of the Elephant Back Loop Trail.
This is the fourth and final switchback on the hike to the main overlook.
That said, the Elephant Back Mountain Trail continues to climb for about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) to the top of the loop, located just beyond the main viewpoint when hiking clockwise.
When the Elephant Back Trail turns toward the southwest after the fourth switchback, most of the uphill is over by this point, meaning the loop becomes much more gradual to the main viewpoint and the top of the trail shortly thereafter.
Elephant Back Mountain Overlook
After roughly 2.0 miles (3.2 km) from the east or 2.2 miles (3.5 km) from the west side of the loop, the Elephant Back Mountain Trail reaches the best viewpoint near the top of the hike!
That said, this viewpoint is not the true summit of Elephant Back Mountain, as the true summit is located in a very remote area well off the trail, about 2.75 miles (4.4 km) from this overlook.
In any case, this beautiful viewpoint looks out toward Lake Village and Fishing Bridge to the southeast, and on the clearest of days, the Tetons can be seen roughly 60 miles (96.6 km) to the southwest!
Almost immediately after the Elephant Back Mountain Overlook, the trail slowly turns back to the northeast as it works its way over to the east side of the loop and the descent back to the beginning.
This is the highest point on the Elephant Back Loop Trail, meaning the rest of the hike is almost entirely downhill as the trail works its way back to the trailhead.
This is where the Elephant Back Mountain Trail abruptly turns to the southeast and the east switchbacks at the top of the loop.
This abrupt drop is the beginning of the east switchbacks.
This is where the Elephant Back Mountain Trail turns the first of four switchbacks on the descent to the beginning of the loop.
This is the second of four switchbacks.
As previously mentioned, the east switchbacks are slightly steeper than the west, which, again, is another reason some hikers may want to use trekking poles on the Elephant Back Mountain Loop.
This is the fourth and final switchback on the descent, meaning that, from this point, the Elephant Back Trail will level out considerably in about 0.2 miles (0.3 km).
This is the bottom of the east switchbacks and a nice sign that the beginning of the Elephant Back Mountain Loop is not far ahead!
After the switchbacks, the rest of the hike back to the beginning of the loop is nothing more than an easy, gradual descent through the dense Lodgepole forest—and again, don’t forget to hike with bear spray!
Elephant Back Mountain Loop Junction
This is where the Elephant Back Trail completes the 2.2-mile (3.5 km) loop and returns to the original junction shown earlier in this article.
That said, go left at this split to continue hiking down to the trailhead off Grand Loop Road, located about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) from this point.
Old Faithful (Upper–Lower Geyser Basins)
Canyon Village
Maddison–Norris
Yellowstone Lake & East Entrance
Mammoth, Lamar Valley & Tower
