This Hidden Gateway To Yellowstone Is An Uncrowded, Pristine Montana Forest With Wild Mountain Trails

Over 4 million people flock to Yellowstone National Park every year, and for good reason. From the family-friendly waterfall trail along a lovely creek to the iconic Old Faithful geyser, the park is filled with natural beauty. While Yellowstone is impressive and worth exploring, surrounding it are the comparatively uncrowded, vast wilds of the Custer Gallatin National Forest. These sprawling woodlands skirt Yellowstone on two sides, stretching from Montana to South Dakota through quaint towns and over rugged mountain peaks with lakes and rivers thrown in for good measure.

This forest is home to the "most beautiful roadway in America," Beartooth Highway, which connects Red Lodge, Montana, to Yellowstone National Park's northeast entrance. When you do decide to pull over to explore and play, you'll have over 3 million acres to do so. You also have the opportunity to fish three of America's most legendary trout rivers, camp and hike with minimal or no fees in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and for the truly adventurous, try to summit one of America's toughest state highpoints. And that's just in the summer.

In the winter, this area is renowned for its snowmobiling and ice climbing, as well as its ski resorts. Add in the trendy metropolis of Bozeman and the Old West towns of Livingston and Red Lodge, and you might simply decide to skip Yellowstone this year for its neighboring Custer Gallatin.

The best time to explore the Custer Gallatin is the summer. Fly into the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana, just on the edge of the national forest. You could also fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and add some roadside scenery of the Grand Tetons as you motor over to Idaho and up into Montana. After about 3 hours of driving over mountain passes and through forests, you'll reach West Yellowstone. From there, push north to this fly-fisher's dream.

Once in the Custer Gallatin, you have the opportunity to fish the Three Forks of the Missouri just off the side of the road: the Madison, the Jefferson, and the Gallatin. Stop in a fishing shop on the Main Street of Ennis — with its statue of a fly fisherman – for supplies.

If hiking is more your thing, head east into the heart of the Custer Gallatin National Forest. A must-do hike is the Mystic Lake Trail from the East Rosebud Trailhead. This nearly 6-mile out-and-back is popular because it's easy to reach, moderately challenging, and absolutely stunning. The truly ambitious might try to tackle Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in Montana and considered one of the toughest American state high points. If exploring shops and restaurants is more your thing, the lively Yellowstone gateway town of Red Lodge is a rugged Old West stop full of cowboy charm. For some history, the Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument is about a 2-and-a-half-hour drive away, and is where the general after whom the Custer Gallatin is named had his last stand.

Summer might be the time when the Custer Gallatin is most accessible, but winter is pretty amazing too. You'll want to fly into Bozeman to minimize drive time on snowy roads. A little over an hour away from Bozeman is Gardiner, Montana, home to the only Yellowstone entrance that's open year-round. From there, you can either slap on some cross-country skis or book one of the snowmobile tours available to explore the snowy Yellowstone area without the crowds.

Ice climbing may be a bit more daunting, but Hyalite Canyon in the Custer Gallatin is one of the top destinations in the U.S. for the activity. If chairlifts and wide-open downhill slopes are more your speed, then Big Sky, only an hour from Bozeman, is arguably Montana's top ski resort, though still a bit of a secret destination for seasoned skiers. Road closures will limit your adventures to the western side of the Custer Gallatin (for example, the stunning Beartooth Highway is closed in the winter), though you can go the long way around to Red Lodge and Red Lodge Mountain for some down-home skiing. If you find yourself hanging around Bozeman looking to après like the locals, hit up the Molly Brown and the Haufbrau, the last remaining bars from Bozeman's infamous Bar-muda Triangle.

Whether playing in the snow in the winter or roadtripping through the forests in the summer, the Custer Gallatin National Forest is more than just the gateway to Yellowstone. It's a vital part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and worthy of a trip all its own.