Work to repair the famed Morrison Jeep Trail four-wheel route near Clark is underway, but Shoshone National Forest District Ranger Casey McQuiston said the goal is to bring it back to what it was before it was damaged, not to make it more accessible than it was before.

"We’re not going to change the character of that road," he told Park County commissioners in early June. "We're not looking to upgrade it to the point where you can take a Subaru out there. You'll still need a fairly high clearance vehicle."

Alltrails.com notes the 22.5 mile stretch is a technical off road route "for experienced drivers with highly modified, high-clearance 4x4 vehicles."

The trail climbs from the Clarks Fork River valley to the top of the Beartooth Plateau at over 10,000 feet and features 27 tight switchbacks on a narrow, single-lane shelf road with severe dropoffs. The site notes loose rock and steep grades are common.

While that's tough enough, for the last few years part of the road has been impassible, but that'll soon change.

The Shoshone National Forest is implementing a closure area around the Morrison Jeep Trail outside of Clark as work begins to repair the road, damaged during the 2022 flooding. This closure, according to a release, is to protect the safety of the public and employees alike during blasting operations on the Morrison Jeep Trail switchbacks. 

The closure area prohibits being in an area that is roughly 1 mile up and downstream from the beginning of the switchbacks, between the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River and the Dillworth Bench. Specifically, it is all areas between the west bank of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River and the Dillworth Bench in Township 56 North, Range 104 West, Sections 26, 27, 34, and 35. It will be in place until 11:59 p.m. on June 28. 

This is a change from the current closure that allows access to the river along the lower trail, NFSR 119 Friday through Sunday weekly. This access will be restored in time for the Independence Day weekend; the switchbacks will remain closed until work is completed later in the season.  

The lower section of the trail, NFSR 119, has been closed since the 2022 flood. With help from disaster relief funds and partnerships this area will be returned to the destination for the community that it once was.

Any updates to the plan, timing, or closures will be shared on the Shoshone National Forest Facebook page (facebook.com/ShoshoneNationalForestOfficial) as well as posted on the alerts tab at the top of our website (fs.usda.gov/r02/shoshone). For more information, contact the Wapiti Ranger District at 307-527-6921.