Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Montana / Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex

Chinese Wall Loop from Benchmark

Bob Marshall Wilderness, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (Benchmark, Sun River, Moose Creek, Burnt Creek)

The Chinese Wall is a limestone escarpment along the Continental Divide in the heart of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. TrailGroove calls it a “15-mile, 1000-foot cliff of limestone that runs north to south,” while the Continental Divide Trail Coalition describes a 22-mile escarpment about 1,000 feet high, with the trail running below the Divide on the east side for a nearly continuous view.

onX lists a 57.5-mile loop from the Benchmark Trailhead west of Augusta and says it “can take anywhere from five to eight days to complete.”

The hike

The route starts by crossing the South Fork of the Sun River on a wooden bridge, according to onX. TrailGroove, writing about a late-July trip, says the first 10 miles stay “fairly level” through prairie, lodgepole pine, and burned valley, with Continental Divide Trail markers along the way. After “a couple of pack-bridge crossings,” the trail follows the West Fork of the Sun River, with a few fords before Burnt Creek.

TrailGroove’s route passes the Indian Point Meadows backcountry ranger station, then bends west up Burnt Creek and switchbacks to Cliff Pass, at about 7,600 feet beside Cliff Mountain. From there the trail runs below the wall “for many miles past streams, tarns, and flower-filled meadows.” onX’s loop heads west up Moose Creek on Trail 131 to a broad, east-facing section of the wall, follows the wall south on Trail 203, the CDT, and returns by Burnt Creek and the South Fork.

Both sources describe fire scars. TrailGroove writes that “fire has taken its toll as the burnt hillsides attest,” and onX says burned stretches give little shade and that campers should watch for dead trees. TrailGroove passed a grizzly kill marked with warning signs and later followed three sets of grizzly tracks; it notes the area is a game preserve with no hunting, so wildlife is abundant. onX adds that the corridor is popular with horse parties and that Moose Creek can feel like a tunnel.

The key rule here is the no-camping zone below the wall, which the Forest Service closed to camping because of past overuse, according to a 2024 Backcountry Post report. TrailGroove also found its planned route to Larch Hill and Spotted Bear Passes closed by fire, a reminder that August is fire season here.

For a shorter trip on the west side of the Bob Marshall country, see Upper Holland Lake and Sapphire Lakes.

Tips

Camping

Camping in the Bob Marshall is dispersed, but Forest Service Order 01-15-00-25-01 (March 7, 2025, through January 30, 2030) limits groups to 15 people and 35 head of stock, and prohibits camping year-round in the Moose Creek area east of the Continental Divide between Salt Mountain and Cliff Mountain, and within one mile east of the Trail 131/175 junction. onX describes desirable sites as having a flat spot and water access but sitting no closer than 200 yards to the water.

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem food storage order (R1-2023-02) applies from March 1 through December 31 each year through 2028. Unattended food and attractants must be hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet out from any support, kept in an IGBC-certified bear-resistant container, or stored another approved way. Don’t bury or burn food scraps in a campfire.

Inside Intel: A Backcountry Post hiker who camped along Burnt Creek at the base of the wall in 2023 reported that people camp just south of the closure boundary below the wall, and spent a second night at a large site in the Rock Creek drainage to sleep below it again.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Fording the West Fork of the Sun River:

Along the West Fork of the Sun River, the trail makes a few fords before Burnt Creek, and this page advises unbuckling your hip belt and avoiding peak snowmelt. The crossing tips explain why both matter.

Read the crossing tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.