Hiking to Upper Brooks Lake – Dubois, Wyoming

Brooks Lake area is about 45 minutes west of the small town of Dubois, Wyoming, just east of Togwotee Pass. This is a popular route for anyone heading Grand Teton or Yellowstone, so if you’re looking to escape the crowds of the National Parks, you might want to check out the Brooks Lake area and do a hike.

Even if you don’t want to do a hike, just visiting Brooks Lake itself is always a treat. The beautiful breccia cliffs rise above Brooks Lake, and you can see some unique scenery here and snap some beautiful pictures once you reach the end of the gravel road.

There isn’t much information about this hike online, so I wanted to give my report to help others who may be interested in doing this hike while in the area. My husband and I hiked this with friends who are local to the area – otherwise I would’ve never known about this hike! Additionally, part of this trail follows the famous Continental Divide trail, so you may see some thru-hikers on your day hike!

Upper Brooks Lake Trail – Overview

Type: Out and Back
Length: 6 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 358 feet – flat almost the entire way.
Difficulty: Easy
MUST BRING BEAR SPRAY. EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY NEEDS THEIR OWN CAN!

Bear spray is an absolute must on this hike. This is big time grizzly country, and the area isn’t as well trafficked as, say, the national parks in the area. Bring bear spray!!!

Upper Brooks Lake Trailhead:

Brooks Lake and the trails in the area are all roughly 45 minutes from Dubois. The turnoff for the trail is right off of US Highway 287. You will need to drive 5 miles on a dirt road – the road is well-maintained and any vehicle should be able to make it back here.

There are also lots of US Forest Service-managed campgrounds here, plus the uber-bougie, all-inclusive Brooks Lake Lodge and Spa. Their outfitters also use the trails here for horseback ride trips and guided hikes for their guests. The lakes in this area are known for excellent trout fishing so if fishing is your thing, you may want to purchase a license and bring your gear – you will see lots of fishermen hanging out in this area!

Another option is to turn this into a 9-mile loop hike, adding Jade Lake and Rainbow Lakes to your hike. We only had time to do Upper Brooks Lake, but if you have more time, you might want to add the other lakes to your hike, as I imagine they are beautiful.

Hiking to Upper Brooks Lake

After you’ve parked your vehicle and gear’ed up, the trailhead is to your left. You’ll see a large gate – this is where the trail begins. Make sure to read any notices / warnings posted by the US Forest Service on the board. There’s also a map of the area here.

Unfortunately, the day we did this hike was very hazy and smokey, so it really affected the (what should’ve been) beautiful views of this area. My photos probably aren’t going to make you want to jump in your car, drive out to Dubois and hit up this area for a hike. But I assure you that this is a beautiful area – just not on the particular day I did this.

I’ve been to Brooks Lake many times – there are a few pictures (of the trailhead area) in this post that were taken at a different time than my hike. I’ve only hiked to Upper Brooks Lake once. So if you see photos that have a clear sky, that’s why!

The hike to Upper Brooks Lake is nearly flat the entire way – the entire hike itself is only 382 feet in elevation gain, so even though this is a 6ish mile round trip hike, it won’t feel like it and it’ll go fast.

So, from the gate, you’ll begin your hike. There will be some nice boardwalks straightaway, but these quickly go away, and you’ll be on a regular dirt trail. The trail got very muddy, very quickly and it remained that way until we got all the way around Brooks Lake. At that point, the trail dried out and we were now hiking through a large open meadow.

After the meadow, you’ll enter the forest – this could be a welcome site as it provides some shade on a hot day. You’ll follow the creek along the way, and there are nicely maintained footbridges to cross the stream.

Along our hike, we saw several groups of horseback riders on the trail. These trail rides come from the swanky lodge, where the outfitters take the guests out for the day to explore.

Once you’re at Brooks Lake, there’s lots of room to find a nice place to relax, enjoy a snack and just take in the views. When you’re ready to head back, you can either make a loop around the lake or you can come back the way you came. We just went back the way we came.

Thankfully, when we were on our way back, some of the smoke and haze started to clear out, and improved some of the visibility.

After the hike, we headed to Dubois for an early dinner at the Cowboy Cafe! Definitely make time to check out the cute town of Dubois, Wyoming if you’re headed out this way (it’s also the only place to grab a bite to eat around here!)

Hiking to Upper Brooks Lake near Dubois, Wyoming – Final Thoughts

While this was a nice, relaxing and easy hike, the haze and smoke in the air really ruined the views. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it’s a beautiful area, despite my ugly photos!

Pros:

• Easy, family-friendly hike
• It’s over 6 miles but doesn’t seem that long since it’s so flat
• Scenic area, not a lot of traffic on trails, except from the outfitters at the lodge.
• Nice footbridges across the streams
• Lakes are known for excellent fishing

Cons:

• It’s grizzly country – you must have bear spray.
• Trail can get extremely muddy around the trailhead and around lower Brooks Lake.