Yellowstone NP, WY – Gneiss Creek is a 14 mile trail that travels between US Route 191 north of West Yellowstone to the Seven Mile Bridge. The Seven Mile Bridge is the first large bridge over the Madison River on the West Entrance Road traveling into Yellowstone National Park from West Yellowstone or about seven miles west of the Madison Junction.The trailhead is located at the east end of the bridge with a reasonable sized parking area. This hike is included in Bill Schneider’s Falcon Guide: Hiking Yellowstone National Park- A Guide to More than 100 Great Hikes.
Madison River at Seven Mile Bridge near the trailhead
Mike starts down the Gneiss Creek Trail
We opted to day hike the first couple of miles of Gneiss Creek from the Seven Mile Bridge and then travel on part of the Cougar Cabin trail toward Cougar Creek. From the Seven Mile Bridge Trailhead, Gneiss Creek Trail travels along the Madison River on the steep northern slope for about a mile.
Gneiss Creek Trail travels above the Madison River
The trail is narrow along the steep slope
Looking back toward the trailhead Gneiss Creek
After a mile, Gneiss Creek Trail climbs north through forest for slightly under 1/2 mile before coming out into large open meadows. Approximately 1.5 miles from the trailhead, there is a signed trail junction: Gneiss Creek heads left and a trail to the Cougar Creek Patrol Cabin heads right. We opted to head right and explore the vast meadows. We spotted a mule deer on our hike. This area is home to grazing bison, herds of elk (in fall, winter, and spring), and can have bears or wolves – especially when the elk & bison are present. Practice Bear Safety.
The trail climbs away from the river
Madison River from the trail with smoke haze from wildfires
Burned area along the trail
Meadows obscured by smoke
Gneiss Creek Trail meadows
The signed junction about 1.5 miles from trailhead
We hiked this trail in late August. The meadows were quite overgrown and we were glad to be wearing long pants. There is also no where to hide from the sun, bring sunscreen or sun shirt. In late August we did not have difficulty with biting flies which were mentioned in our hiking guide. Multiple guides also warned that the full 14 mile Gneiss Creek Trail can be difficult to follow in sections.
Mike crosses the meadow with distant ridges barely visible due to smoke haze
Mike in the distance for scale
Yellowstone can be a harsh environment as evidenced by this tree growing sideways
Bone remnants are another reminder of the harshness of Yellowstone
Final view from our hike
While visiting Yellowstone National Park this trip, we stayed at the Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park in West Yellowstone, Montana. We also hiked a number of other trails including:
- Riddle Lake
- Chain of Lakes (Cascade, Grebe, and Wolf)
- Pebble Creek
- Fawn Pass/Fan Creek
- Rescue Creek
- Black Canyon of the Yellowstone Backpack Overnight Trip: (Hellroaring, Yellowstone River Trail, Blacktail Deer Creek Trail)
- Upper Gallatin River/ Bighorn Pass Trail
- Nez Perce Creek (western Mary Mountain Trail)
During prior trips to Yellowstone we’ve also hiked:
- Artist Paintpots, Yellowstone River Picnic Area/Specimen Ridge, Rescue Creek, Trout Lake, Slough Creek, Beaver Ponds, Hellroaring Creek, Mary Mountain Trail, Pelican Creek, Fairy Falls
- Mount Washburn, Bunsen Peak, and Elephant Back
- Garnett Hill Loop, Pelican Valley, Snow Mesa/Hoodoos Loop, Lonestar Geyser, Clear Lake/Ribbon Lake/Wapiti Loop
