Lost Creek Falls is a 40-foot waterfall in a steep, narrow box canyon behind the historic Roosevelt Lodge, a log structure built in 1920 to commemorate a visit by Theodore Roosevelt. The narrow canyon is home to Douglas and Subapline firs and moss-covered hillsides offering a pleasantly cool walk.
This short walk meanders along the creek that blissfully cascades over and around granite boulders on its way down from the falls.
Heading into the wilderness takes a combination of love, mindfulness, caution, and knowing and respecting your physical limits. Montana and Yellowstone are places of glorious big sky, mountains, and many trails with awesome elevation gains. So I stand on the edge of wilderness, knowing beautiful Lost Lake lies ahead, with a willing heart, mind, and feet but lungs that make me reevaluate the wisdom of every trek.
Turbulent, icy cold waters is where you will find these small, brightly colored waterfowl called Harlequins ducks. The largest ducks are about 16″ from the tip of their tail to tip of their bill. In winter they choose the roughest northern coastal waters, but in summer they grace the wild, swirling LeHardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River to mate. The females will remain here raising the young through the summer, returning north in early autumn. These diving ducks feed on crustaceans, small fish, insects, and other assorted life they find as they swim underwater and even walk on the bottom searching the rocks for food. Studies have shown many adult Harlequins have had broken bones, probably a result of living in such rough surroundings. Welcome back Harlequins!
I saw the sign so many times–Harlequin Lake–but I could never see the trailhead. Was it further up or down the road? Did so few people walk the trail that the surrounds swallowed it up? Well, why don’t I just park across from the sign and take a good look. I see it . . . uhhhhh . . .
