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Wild Basin is the south entrance to the park and is located south on Hwy 7. This area does not draw as many people and has many campsites to choose from. There are some excellent peaks in the area, but due to long approaches they are mostly all strenuous in difficulty. Wild Basin excels in pine forest and lots of running water.
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Thunder Lake
Distance: 6.8 miles (one-way)
Elevation Gain: 2,074 ft.
Difficulty: High-moderate
Trailhead: Wild Basin main parking lot
Overall: If you love trees, water and fewer people, Wild Basin which is the south entrance to the park, is a great place to hike. Trails are long before approaching treeline but worth the effort
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Finch Lake
Distance: 4.5
Elevation Gain: 1,442 ft.
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: Finch Lake Trailhead at Wild Basin
Overall: Mostly in the forest. The lake is gentle and calm with good reflections of Mt. Copeland.
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Pear Reservoir
Distance: 6.5
Elevation Gain: 2,112 ft.
Difficulty: High moderate
Trailhead: Finch Lake Trailhead at Wild Basin
Overall: You won't find many people in this area of the National Park. Most forest hiking until you reach the lake.
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Bluebird and Junco
Distance: 6.4 one-way
Elevation Gain: 2,478 ft.
Difficulty: high-moderate lake
Trailhead: Wild Basin Ranger Station
Overall: The real beauty of this hike begins right where it starts to get hard which is at the Bluebird/Ouzel Lake junction. Hang in there- after a mile you'll come to one of the best subalpine forest in the park. Fields of flowers set amidst large boulders with babbling brooks will take your mind off the last 200 ft. of climbing. Junco is located about three-quarters mile to the south. The route, though fairly straightforward, is not marked and requires good route-finding skills.
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Ouzel and Ogallala
Distance: 9.75 one-way
Elevation Gain: 4,638 ft. (seems like more)
Difficulty: strenuous
Trailhead: Wild Basin Ranger Station
Overall: Two great peaks. Lots of loose stuff on the way up to Ouzel but once you've climbed Ouzel, Ogallala is just another long mile of great tundra hiking with an even better summit at the end. We decided to descend into the Junco Lake basin which required a lot of spacing due to rock fall and extreme care. For seasoned hikers and peak baggers, this is a beauty.
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