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Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness
The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness is one of the largest contiguous roadless areas in the United States: 944,000 acres. It is comprised of the Gallatin, Custer, and Shoshone National Forests (USDA) and spans two distinct mountain ranges (the Absaroka Range, and the Beartooth Range) and two states (Montana and Wyoming). It is contiguous with the roadless northern region of Yellowstone National Park, and makes up a significant portion of the 20-million acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
The "A-B", as it is known locally, is home to more than 750 miles of trails that comprise a backpacker's paradise. It is famous for its backcountry mountaineering (alpine in the spring, rock in the summer, and ice in the winter), backcountry fly fishing, and backcountry hunting (with trophy elk and mountain goat leading the way). The eastern portion of the wilderness, especially the Lake, Stillwater, Hellroaring, Froze-to-Death, and Beartooth Plateaus, are a cross-country hikers dream, with more contiguous acreage of alpine tundra above 10,000 feet than any range in the Lower 48.
The A-B is home to significant populations of big game, including the grizzly bear, black bear, elk, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, mountain lion, and gray wolf.
Access to the wilderness is primarily from Livingston, MT (NW), Gardiner, MT (SW), Billings, MT (N), Red Lodge, MT (NE), and Cooke City, MT (SE).
The A-B Wilderness is considered the primary home trekking area for Backpacking Light's Wilderness Trekking School [1].
