EAST ROSEBUD — Nestled in the Beartooth Mountains, East Rosebud Lake is one of our state’s hidden gems but is still visited by many after disastrous flooding that caused significant damage to the area two years ago.
“These are the beautiful mountains and the lakes are so crystal clear,” said Kristie Patterson, who was visiting the lake with her family.
Patterson and her family are from Kentucky and began traveling to the area after her husband and father-in-law wanted to bring her to see the area they had been backpacking in for many years. Now, her daughter, Lauren Young, and her son-in-law have started coming out as well, and this year, her grandson made his first trip. She loves to travel every few years to Montana to see all that the lake and surrounding scenery have to offer.
"My husband said, I have to take you to Red Lodge, Montana, and so he brought me out here. I had never been to the western part of the United States before," said Patterson. “I fell in love with it, and so in return, 10 years later, I brought my daughter here, and my grandson, this is his first trip here.”
For her and her family, East Rosebud offers an escape from the stresses of life and allows them to slow down.
“We just love coming out here and just sitting and watching the sunset and watching the river flow, a little fly fishing, a little hiking, all of that," said Patterson. "It gets us away from life and just relax and clear our minds so we can get back to work again."
However, a couple years of ago, that peaceful scene was destroyed. The massive flooding in 2022 devastated the area, and rendered the lake inaccessible for over a year as it washed the main road away. Those who live in these cabins in the lakeside community of Alpine even had to have cars flown out by helicopter. Now, the lake has made a recovery, but not without reminders of the past.
“We were interested to see everything since the flooding, so this was kind of crazy just to see the changes and all the trees that have kind of washed up,” said Young. "We were like, oh my gosh, we gotta stop and take a video of this."
Like Young, it was also Mark and Karen Chaney's first time visiting the lake after the floods. The couple from Arizona used to ride horses through the trails but did not this year due to the changes in landscape.
“Coming out, we noticed that the creek had augured into a whole new section, took out a bunch of the road that used to be here. It widened the creek a lot," said Chaney. "A lot of debris.”
While the lake has been changed from the natural disaster, the recreation is strong and still bringing joy to all that visit. Whether you stay awhile, or just come for the day, there’s plenty to do, and don’t forget to hike some of the many trails, and get rewarded with a million-dollar view.
“It's just a beautiful, beautiful ride. There is just so many trails, the grand scheme of the mountains, the skies, the rocks, everything is just in all the flowing creeks," said Chaney.
For Young and her family, they will continue to visit for many years to come.
“It is still the beautiful East Rosebud that we love,” said Young. “I always say this is our favorite place in the world to come.”
