Big Creek camping in the Gallatin National Forest

Between Yankee Jim Canyon and the Dailey School (pictured above) on Hwy 89, Big Creek Rd turns off into the Gallatin National Forest.
















We parked at the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch and continued walking along Big Creek Rd. to the cabin. Big Creek is pictured above.
















































We would be camping in a cabin that was originally built in 1924 for National Forest Rangers and their families. The cabin in the background is the original headquarters which was built in 1907.















Cellar across the road from the cabin.





The cabin has no electricity or running water. There was a vault toilet nearby the cabin.





The original headquarters building built in 1907.

The cabin we stayed in was the guard station...

There were 5 rooms and two porches. Here's the front:

The main room had a table where we ate and played games. There was also a woodstove and 2 beds. Three other rooms also had bunks. The cabin would sleep up to 11.

An example of the decor...

The kitchen had a wood-burning cookstove and plenty of pots and pans. There was also lots of kindling stacked in the corner with chopped wood on the back porch. We didn't use the stove (who are we kidding - none of us knew where to begin to start using it) because we packed in enough junk food to last a week!

The back porch looked out at the creek and the campfire area.

Big Creek

The Absaroka Mountains

An evening walk in the Gallatin Forest...

Suzann chopping wood for our outdoor campfire...

Yum!! Smores! Me, Suzann, Dana, and Mary (Carol snapped the pic)

We sat outside by the fire eating smores until dusk. Then, we built a fire in the woodstove in the cabin and played board games by lantern/candle light.

The warm fire let us fall asleep warm and cozy. As the temps stayed just above freezing all night and we were sleeping in bunkbeds, we slept warmly all night. We woke early the next morning and ate a light breakfast of fruit in the cabin. We walked back to the car and stopped at the Old Saloon in Emigrant for a REAL breakfast!


It was a great weekend!



Later Sunday afternoon, we drove in the park and saw this grizzly at Norris in front of the Ranger Museum:

Here's what Lake Hotel looked like on May 15th, one week before opening:

The Lake still covered in ice...

Lake Lodge