The Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area, just north of Hebgen Lake, and the adjacent Cabin Creek Wildlife Management Area are crisscrossed with trails. Several trails start at the end of Beaver Creek Road, and a trail heads out from Cabin Creek Campground to the wilderness area and other trails. Consult a Gallatin National Forest map, available from the ranger stations in West Yellowstone or Ennis, before setting out.

Even when the lake is iced over, fishing continues on Hebgen Lake. Brown and rainbow trout predominate and can be large. Smaller populations of cutthroat, whitefish, and arctic grayling also live here. Fishing is not quite as good on Quake Lake, which was one of the Madison River’s prime fishing areas before the 1959 earthquake.

Hebgen Lake is a popular boating and waterskiing spot, and although people do windsurf on the lake, it’s probably not worth planning an entire vacation around it.

There’s backcountry cross-country skiing on Hebgen Mountain and less challenging trail skiing at Refuge Point on Hebgen Lake. Stop by the ranger station in West Yellowstone for more information.