Skinner Meadows Road to Cowbone Lake

FS 7330 Darkhorse Creek from FS 381 Skinner Meadows at MP 0 (45.1692, -113.5202) past Darkhorse Lake to the road end at Cowbone Lake (45.1590, -113.5748): 5.44 miles one way and about 10.9 miles round trip (FS road inventory), returning the same way. Hiltz (secondary): "The trail to these two lakes, from the point it forks from Skinner Meadows Road, is only 5.4 miles long." The approach on Skinner Meadows Road and FS 381 is part of the Big Hole Road 181 guide.

Easy · Owner-Set: High Clearance, One Secondary Source

Aaron set this road at 3/10 on Oct. 13, 2026 (owner statement), for a high-clearance road and for consistency with AGF's other Class 3 ratings. AGF has no record of driving it; the rating rests on the sources below, not an AGF run. AGF rates a trail by its hardest unavoidable obstacle in normal dry conditions, and no specific obstacle on FS 7330 is documented. The only rating source is Richard Hiltz's drive report (Montana Overland & 4x4 Adventures, secondary; no trip date given), whose page lists "Trail Rating: Class 3". On his scale, Class 3 is "the most fun four-wheeling you can expect to have in a stock 4x4", and "low range may be required often; vehicle damage is a possibility." The Forest Service lists FS 7330 at maintenance level 2, for high-clearance vehicles (2023 MVUM copy). Supporting only: AGF's ratings for Hiltz's other Class 3 trails run 3–5, most often 4; none of those AGF numbers is owner-confirmed (source: AGF calibration notes, Oct. 12, 2026, internal). Terrain scores are not rated yet. Snow, mud and deadfall are condition changes, not part of the rating.

Terrain scores (rock, mud, water, exposure, snow, pinstriping) are not rated yet for this trail.

Snow, mud, runoff, deadfall and fire are condition changes, not part of the base rating.

Rig Requirements

Stock 4x4

Yes

High clearance

Required (FS: maintenance level 2, high-clearance road)

Tires

31-inch minimum

Rear locker

Not documented by any source: verify

Front locker

No

Winch

Not documented by any source: verify

Full-size

Yes: Hiltz (secondary) lists "Wide/Long Vehicles?: No Issues"; highway-legal only

Body damage

Moderate risk

Low-range 4WD, high clearance, good all-terrain tires, a full-size spare, rated recovery points, offline maps and a radio (AGF record). The stock 4x4, tire, front-locker and body-damage rows are from AGF's record: verify. No source documents a locker- or winch-level obstacle. Highway-legal vehicles only.

Know Before You Go

Season

No MVUM seasonal date: highway-legal vehicles yearlong (2023 MVUM copy; 2026 MVUM: verify); snow-limited (FS 7330 is snowmobile trail C6 in winter)

Vehicles

Highway-legal only (2023 MVUM copy)

Typical trip

Full day with the approach (AGF record estimate)

Camping

Verify; not at the cabins or on private land

Trailer parking

Limited (AGF record); verify

Turnaround

Limited (AGF record)

• Hunting season: Montana's general deer and elk season runs Oct. 24–Nov. 29, 2026 (FWP). Expect hunters, camps and parked vehicles; wear blaze orange outside the vehicle. Archery season runs to Oct. 18. A youth deer hunt runs Oct. 15–16 (FWP).
• Food storage: the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Annual Food Storage Order (02-00-22-02) applies "annually from March 1 to December 1" on National Forest land here, and the order runs "until December 31, 2026 at 24:00 or until rescinded" (B-D Annual Food Storage Order). Store food bear-safe.
• No Beaverhead-Deerlodge alert named Skinner Meadows, FS 381, FS 7330, Darkhorse or Cowbone on Oct. 13, 2026 (fire danger Moderate). Recheck before you go.
• Contacts: Wisdom Ranger District (406-689-3243), 300 Forest Service Rd, Wisdom (2026 MVUM, the cabins); Beaverhead County (phone: verify) for Skinner Meadows Road.