4R1 Yellowstone National Park Backcountry — Yellowstone National Park

Rough hike, but worth it for incredible scenery. About a 2 mile hike to camp with a large elevation change. Sleep on Ribbon lake. Fire ring and bear hangers there. Very secluded.

Yellowstone NP back country campsite 4R1 is a nicely shaded wooded campsite located close to Ribbon Lake's lake shore which makes for easy water access. The site has plenty of flat locations to place your tent. The eating/food storage area is besides the lake and is quiet large an has a fairly large fire ring at the site. Fires are allowed at this back country site, but be make sure there are no fire restrictions in place before starting one. As with all back country sites this is trash-in, trash-out, filter your water, make your own place to do your business and if you make a fire be sure it is dead out. To get to the campsite you have three trail heads to choose from. The shortest will be from Artist Point(4KB) trail head, from here it is a short 2.1 mile hike. The next is from Clear Lake(4N2) trail head, from here it is a 2.7 mile hike. The third choice is Wapiti Lake(4K7) trail head, from here it is either a 3 mile or 4 mile hike depending on the route you choose. I would recommend getting the most out of your back country experience and take the longer route out of Wapiti Lake trail head. We made out trip a loop hike, starting at Wapiti Lake Trail Head and did the Wapiti Lake/Clear Lake-Ribbon Lake loop. This loop has you hiking counter clockwise. Starting at Wapiti Lake Trail Head hike.5 miles to the first trail junction, take the trail to the right(Wapiti Lake Trail). After.4 more miles stay to the left continuing on Wapiti Lake Trail. At the 3 mile mark you will leave Wapiti Lake trail turning left on to Wapiti Cut-off trail. After another.9 miles you will reach the junction for Ribbon lake and the campsites. Turn right and continue for about.1 miles to the junction for campsite 4R1. You will see a sign for Cord Cascade at this last junction before the campsite, but this 1,000 foot waterfall can only be seen from the opposite side of the canyon. The campsite area is just a few feet past the sign. For your return trip take the Clear Lake-Ribbon Lake trail all the way back to Wapiti Lake Trail head. This loop will take you through about every ecosystem in the park, from open grass fields, pine forest, lakes, wetlands, and thermal features.