Mount Washburn

Last week, we did one of the most iconic hikes in Yellowstone: Mount Washburn. One of the highest points in the park, its peak elevation is 10,219 feet and the lookout point at the top boasts panoramic views for about 20 to 50 miles. You can see the Tetons from here! There are two trails that lead to the top, from two different points along Dunraven Pass. And since we do most of our hikes with our friends June and Dan, we decided to take two cars so that we could hike up one path and down the other. That way, every moment provides a fresh vista!

Ten thousand feet sounds like a lot–and it is, there’s still snow in July at some points–but when you start from 8000 feet, it doesn’t sound that bad. Don’t worry, it’s still pretty challenging, no slouching here! The hike took us about 4.5 hours to go 6.5 miles. And it’s basically 3 hours up and 1.5 hours down, lol! There’s a fire tower at the top, which is divided into living quarters for one of the park rangers and a lookout point for visitors, with illustrated maps of your surroundings in each direction.

Mount Washburn is one of three fire lookout stations in Yellowstone, along with Mount Sheridan and Mount Holmes. It is continuously staffed from mid-June until the fire season ends around the end of September. Fire lookouts are staffed by firefighters trained to detect and locate fires, monitor fire activity, and report significant changes. They spend the summer living alone, watching for signs of fire. We’re not sure if this is considered a perk or not as it’s very isolated up here, although the cell reception is fantastic (if you have Verizon) thanks to the multiple cell towers along the trail and covering the lookout structure!

Mount Washburn is the remnant of an extinct volcano from the Absaroka Volcanics roughly 50 million years ago. The volcano was literally cut in half by another volcanic eruption about 640,000 years ago. Only the northern part of the original volcano is still visible. The peak was named in 1870 to honor Henry D. Washburn, leader of the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition. The Washburn Range is one of two mountain ranges (the other being the Red Mountains, south of Yellowstone Lake, which contains Mount Sheridan) that lie completely within the boundaries of Yellowstone.

Mount Washburn is a very popular hike, so you’ll find fellow pilgrims at practically every turn. And everywhere you look, there are amazing and beautiful views.

Bighorn sheep are often seen along the slopes of Mount Washburn. But we only saw one on this trip.

And wildflowers are abundant on the southern slope.

In short, I can’t recommend this hike highly enough! Although, TBH, I wouldn’t really consider this a good one to do if you’ve just flown in for a week-long trip. The altitude was challenging for us flatlanders, even after having been here for a couple months. But we patted ourselves on the back at the end (and multiple times along the way, in full disclosure) and have some great photos and memories to bring home with us!