Hidden Gem of Montana: Chrome Lake

A rocky and steep 4X4 trail deep into the Beartooth Mountains is the only way to access this extremely remote lake. Most people in Montana do not know that Chrome Lake exists!

The grand finale of the 4 day camping excursion was a beautiful rainbow hovering over the lake after a quick storm.

My trusty Jeep, Fluffie, got us to where we needed to go.

The trail twisted and turned amid rock faces and dense woods.

Where we camped was completely remote! Surrounded by thick Montana forest, we had total privacy and freedom.

The lake was gorgeous. However, the water was a red color from the chromium that drained to the lake. Clear red waters, it was a strange sight.

The Benbow Mine was made in the early 1900s to mine chromium. It lasted a good 40-50 years and was shut down.

Some very rare Icelandic Poppies! I was so excited to find these! I resisted the urge to pick them.

Cute little Fairy Cups. These are hard to find, the forest conditions have to be perfect for them to grow.

It amazes me how these men came to discover the minerals and bring all the materials to build the mine out here. It is so remote and rocky and steep, it must have been an epic undertaking.

A shot of the forest to show you how dense and thick it is. A bear could be 5 feet away from you and you wouldn't even notice he was there . . . Well, except for the smell!

A little frog pond nearby had hundreds of thousands of tadpoles in it.

A beautiful morning on our final camping day.

We love to travel around Montana and find remote areas on a map and then travel to them, explore, camp, fish, and document.

I feel so blessed to live in this great state. I feel that Montana embraces what America really is: freedom.