Solitude Loop (Solitude Trail #038)

Cloud Peak Wilderness, Bighorn National Forest (west of Buffalo and east of Ten Sleep)

The Solitude Trail circles Cloud Peak (13,167 feet), the high point of the Bighorn Mountains, through the heart of the 191,914-acre Cloud Peak Wilderness. The Fastest Known Time route page lists the loop at 59 miles with about 10,500 feet of climbing, crossing four passes and passing four lakes, much of it above timberline.

It doesn’t have its own trailhead. Access trails come in from all sides, including Coffeen Park on the north, West Tensleep Lake on the west, and Hunter on the south, each adding a few miles.

The hike

TrailGroove’s David Cobb, writing in 2024 about a trip from Coffeen Park, gives the loop as 62 miles with about 65 miles of total hiking and recommends going clockwise for a more gradual climb. He notes that counter-clockwise “gets you to the high country quicker.” He finished in just over four days.

A 2024 trip report on the Fastest Known Time site lists the landmarks clockwise from Coffeen Park: Highland Park, Kearney Lake, Florence Pass, Lake Solitude, Teepee Pole Flats, Geneva Pass, and Willow Lake and the West Ten Sleep corridor, where that report saw most of the other trail users. Florence Pass is the high point, at about 10,900 to 11,000 feet depending on the source. The report describes the climb out of Lake Solitude as long and steady and the descent off Geneva Pass as technical.

Water is not the problem. TrailGroove calls it plentiful and recommends stream-crossing shoes for “three-a-day creek fords,” and the 2024 report counted more than 20 water crossings. Navigation can be. TrailGroove says signs at meadow junctions “tend to fall down from wind or sign rot,” and that cairns through Highland Park can be hard to follow. Cobb missed a meadow junction near Elk Lake and walked about a mile the wrong way.

Much of the loop is above timberline. TrailGroove recommends mid-August to mid-September, at the end of wildflower and bug season, and reports snow in August and possible fire later in the season. Cell reception was available on many passes.

The off-trail route up Cloud Peak leaves the Solitude Trail near Mistymoon Lake; see Mistymoon Lake and Cloud Peak. For shorter trips off the loop, see Lost Twin Lakes and Seven Brothers Lakes.

Tips

Register at the trailhead. Every group needs a signed, dated, free self-issued registration.
Carry a stove. No fires of any kind except chemical stoves above 9,200 feet.
Pack out human waste in the West and Middle Tensleep drainages.
Bring water shoes for the fords.
Carry a map and compass; junction signs are often down.
Plan for weather. TrailGroove’s author had snow in August.

Camping

Bighorn National Forest order 02-02-26-01, in effect from March 31, 2026 through 2030, sets the Cloud Peak Wilderness rules. Every visitor or group needs a free, self-issued registration, signed and dated, from the trailhead kiosks. Groups are capped at 10 people and 15 head of stock (12 people if one member carries Leave No Trace certification); larger parties must split and stay half a mile apart. Camping is prohibited within 100 feet of any lake, stream, or pond. Above 9,200 feet only self-contained chemical stoves are allowed, and below that fires must be in a fire pan, blanket, or enclosed stove and at least 300 feet from water and trails. Solid human waste must be packed out of the West and Middle Tensleep drainages.

A separate 2025 order (02-02-01-25-02) prohibits camping along Forest Road 27 from Tyrrell Ranger Station north to the wilderness boundary, outside developed campgrounds, and requires solid human waste there to go in a portable toilet.

Inside Intel: No camper accounts recommending a specific site on the full loop were found. A 2022 Backcountry Post group crossing Florence Pass camped in the Paint Rock Creek valley “behind a rock beside a waterfall,” where they recovered after running low on water.

Trail facts

Distance: 59 miles (Fastest Known Time); 62 miles (TrailGroove), plus access trails
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Strenuous
High point: Florence Pass, about 10,900-11,000 feet
Campsites: Dispersed; 100 feet from water
Water: Plentiful; treat it
Permits: Free self-issued registration required
Fires: Chemical stoves only above 9,200 feet
Group size: 10 people, 15 stock
Trailheads: Coffeen Park, West Tensleep, Hunter, and others
Last verified: October 12, 2026

The Lowdown

20-plus crossings around Cloud Peak:

TrailGroove recommends stream-crossing shoes for three-a-day creek fords on the Solitude Loop, and a 2024 report counted more than 20 water crossings. Our five tips cover which shoes to bring and how to cross safely.

See the water-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.