Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Wyoming / Yellowstone

Shoshone Lake and Shoshone Geyser Basin (DeLacy Creek to Lone Star Geyser)

Yellowstone National Park (DeLacy Creek and Lone Star Geyser trailheads, Old Faithful to West Thumb road)

Shoshone Lake is the second-largest lake in Yellowstone, about 8,050 acres and 205 feet deep, and the National Park Service says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believes it may be the largest lake in the lower 48 that can’t be reached by road. On its west end, Shoshone Geyser Basin has hot springs and geysers with no boardwalks.

This point-to-point route walks in from DeLacy Creek, follows the lake’s north shore to the geyser basin, and exits past Lone Star Geyser. Hiking Project puts it at 21.2 miles.

The hike

The DeLacy Creek Trail starts 8.8 miles west of West Thumb Junction on the road toward Old Faithful. The NPS describes it as an easy trail along a forest edge and through open meadows, where sandhill cranes and moose are possible, to the shore of what it calls “Yellowstone’s largest backcountry lake.” Hiking Project says the trail drops about 150 feet over roughly 3 miles, leaving the forest for DeLacy Meadows at about a mile.

At the lake, turn right onto the North Shore Shoshone Lake Trail. Hiking Project’s North Shore description says the first 2.5 miles along the shore are the main attraction, with what it calls the best lake views available to hikers. Lakeshore campsites 8S2 and 8S3 are along this stretch; a fishing spur climbs about 400 feet to Pocket Lake. The trail then leaves the shore for lodgepole forest that the same guide describes as “fairly uninteresting.” Short spurs lead to sites 8R2 and 8R3 and to the Cove Patrol Cabin, and another spur reaches 8R5 near the west end.

At about 11.3 miles, according to Hiking Project, the trail meets the Shoshone Lake Trail. Shoshone Geyser Basin is less than half a mile to the left, and Hiking Project suggests at least an hour there, naming Minuteman, Union, Lion and Bronze geysers. It warns that thermal areas have no boardwalks and that scalding water can lie beneath a thin crust, so stay on well-worn paths.

Back at the junction, the route turns toward Old Faithful, passing the Bechler River Trail junction and climbing about 200 feet to Grants Pass on the Continental Divide, roughly 3 miles past the basin. It descends through forest and meadow to a bridge over the Firehole River near 18 miles, then passes Lone Star Geyser, which Hiking Project says erupts about every three hours, up to 45 feet. The last stretch follows the Firehole to the Lone Star Geyser Trailhead, south of Kepler Cascades.

Writing about DeLacy Creek in October 2016, Kurt Repanshek of National Parks Traveler recommended fall for its few crowds and found the temperatures cool enough for “a down vest, shell jacket, and pair of gloves.” For the long route south from Lone Star, see the Bechler River Trail.

Tips

Camping

A Yellowstone backcountry permit is required, and you camp only at designated sites. The NPS says about 75% of sites can be reserved on Recreation.gov at least three days ahead; walk-up permits are issued in person up to two days before your trip, and permits are picked up in person May 15 to Oct. 31. Stays run 1 to 3 nights, group sizes are 4 to 12 by site, and most sites take one group. Every site has a food pole or box. Pets aren’t allowed on park trails.

Inside Intel: The Adventuring Heidi camped at 8S3 (“Coyote”) in July 2025 and called it “a beautiful backcountry campsite in my opinion!” She says it’s “right on the shores of Shoshone Lake,” with shore rocks for lounging, views across the lake to Mount Sheridan, tent pads set back from the food pole, a privy near the trail and shade from lodgepole pines.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Dinner on the shore of Shoshone Lake:

At site 8S3 the food pole sits apart from the tent pads, so pack meals that cook fast and leave little trash to hang. See the camp meals backpackers rate.

See what testers chose →

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.