Spanish Lakes

An absolutely stunning area to camp. A relatively challenging nine-mile-hike in from the Spanish Creek campground. Turn left at the trail map and follow the well marked signs. You’ll have stunning views of the mountains, rivers, and pines on your hike in. A few other places to camp on the way in. You’ll cross a couple rivers—so be prepared to take off those boots. Once arriving at the top; you’ll find a stunning array of crystal lakes, snow melts, and glistening cliffs. We camped on top of a large cliff system across the first lake. As you hike in, there are multiple little lakes to camp and fish around. The highest lake (about 100 meters past the first) is indescribably breathtaking. Surrounded by massive mountains, a rolling stream, and a little dead forest accompanied by a campsite and fire ring—AH! I felt like I was in a simulation. Apparently you can summit the nearby mountains and reached a higher lake called Beehive. My friends went and said they enjoyed it. Tons of fishing in all of the lakes. Diverse wildflowers. Tons of bugs. But all great fun! Will certainly return when I go back to Montana.

This place is indescribable. To get there you drive into the Spanish Creek Picnic area. Then you follow the trails on the map to Spanish Lakes. The trails are pretty well marked. It’s about 9.5 miles in and up. The first 4.5 miles are super chill and flat. You’ll cruise through those. You cross over some beautiful bridges over roaring streams. Couple streams didn’t have bridges so we had to lose our boots for those crossings. Then there is a gradual uphill and the last 2 miles are pretty brutal. Eventually, you reach the first lake and you’re like WHAAATT and your jaw is dropping. Mt. Blaze is up to your left and all around are other stunning peaks. The lake is crystal clear and cold. Tons of west slope cutthroat trout that get flown in. There is a ~ 40 ft cliff you can jump off of into the super deep water. We camped just above that spot at a fire ring overlooking the lake. But if you go up to the second and third lakes there are even better spots. Truly a magical place. Definitely make it worth it and stay at least two nights if the weather is good!