Divide Trail

The Divide Trail in Yellowstone National Park is a steady climb through an older forest along the Continental Divide to an old lookout site. Aside from a brief glimpse at the beautiful Shoshone Lake, it lacks any views you might hope for, including at the site of the old lookout.

In between Old Faithful and West Thumb, there is a nice, big pullout and a trailhead sign for the Divide Trail. The first caveat here is that I understand that it is a pleasant ski and snowshoe trail in the winter. I stepped onto the trail in the afternoon on a pleasant summer day. The forest is really pleasant consisting primarily of older lodgepole with some fir mixed in. The trail, over beautiful ground up obsidian rock, steadily works its way up the hill.

The trail parallels the Continental Divide, but this section of the divide goes over the gnarled section of Yellowstone National Park as opposed to sections of the divide along alpine ridge lines. This gives you no views to speak of for most of the trip. There is a brief look down to Shoshone Lake. I took a little off trail to get a better view which I was glad that I did. From there, I went back into the trees all the way up to the site of an old lookout. The lookout is no longer to be found, but some chunks of concrete, cut logs and some old rusty tin cans tell of its past. Tall trees surround the spot obscuring any views out.

Overall, there are many other hikes that combine the effort of this hike, but have much more reward.

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