The Not So Hidden Lakes

story and photos by David Rabenberg

After a long day of work on Wednesday, I was ready to get outside. With so many choices nearby, it’s always a tough decision to decide where to go. I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before, and after some thought, decided to head up to Hidden Lakes, suggested by your favorite local magazine (*wink).

Driving the rough road up to the trailhead, my girlfriend Angie and I were not expecting to see many (if any) people at the trailhead. We round the last corner, and sure enough….at least ten cars, and one spot left for us. Did the recent mention of Hidden Lakes in Outside Bozeman bring all these people here?

Almost immediately after leaving the trailhead, we ran into two fishermen coming back down. “That’s one car down…only nine more to go,” I thought. This wasn’t the real wilderness experience I was hoping for. As we hiked further, we ran into one more group of two, and then two large groups of 20+!! These two groups were full of older people (age 50+. No offense anyone… It’s all relative), hiking up steep and rocky trail. I can only hope that in 30 years I can still be as active as these hikers were.

Judging by the masses of people we had just seen, I figured the trailhead would soon be emptying, and sure enough, by the time we got to the lakes, it was all ours.

The second lake has a perfect launch pad for a 10-15 ft jump into a deep pool. The water was perfect. Cold enough to make your lungs panic when you first jump in, but not so cold that you can’t get used to it.

After drying off on the warm rocks above the lakes, we spent some time exploring around the lakes and eating lunch before heading back to the car.

All in all, it was a great day. Time to head back to town and BBQ.