Specimen Ridge Day Hike Trail

This one starts with a fake-out — a mellow stroll along an old service road that lasts about a hundred yards before the trail veers right and the real work begins. From there, you're climbing steadily up open grassland toward a high ridge, with the kind of grade that has you stopping to 'admire the view' more than you'd like to admit. The trail itself is informal and braided, with game trails crisscrossing the hillside trying to lure you off-route. Push through to the ridgeline and you're rewarded with a panorama that earns every drop of sweat: the broad sweep of Slough Creek Valley below, the jagged Absaroka Range stacking up to the east, and a sense of space that the boardwalk crowds at Old Faithful will never know. The cliff outcrop at the far end of the ridge makes a natural turnaround and a killer lunch spot. This trail is built for hikers who want to earn their solitude and don't mind a little route-finding along the way.