Lily Pad and Crater lakes lie in a school section about one and a half miles off the West Rosebud road across from the Lazy EL ranch property.

Legal access is available across BLM land from the West Rosebud Road, but there is no trail and minimal parking. It is a real bushwhacking effort to find them. This route is the shortest and most scenic to the lakes as well as point to point day hiking/hunting when connected to the proposed Forest Service trail. A private party does have access to the (stocked) lakes from Fiddler creek on an improved non-public road. The Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen, in cooperation with the Forest Service would like to open other trails to the lakes from the South via Reeves lake along the West Rosebud road, and from the West starting in the Dean MT area via Island lake. PLWA is fully supportive of this effort.

BLM Managers and Stillwater County Road engineers met at the proposed Trail Head in October of 2008 . The BLM presented three alternative parking designs (all excluding the EL ranch land) and all seemed OK with the County.

The plans will be presented to the Stillwater County Commissioners. All agreed to ask the Commissioners to also assist in one final attempt to gain El ranch support for the project by selling a right-a-way to the triangle of ranch land. The triangle is 4532 sq. ft. or approx .10 acre and if included will make the parking so much more eye appealing.

Lazy EL still has illegal no trespassing signs on the boundaries of public land even though PLWA brought this to county officials earlier this year.

Updated as of October 29, 2008 .