Cowen Massif Rock Climbing

From Livingston, MT, head south on Highway 89. From Gardiner, MT, head north on Highway 89.  North of the town of Emigrant, take the Mill Creek exit. Cross the Yellowstone river and East River Road. You are now are Mill Creek Road, which will turn to gravel after a few miles. Take a left at East Mill Creek Road and park at the Elbow Lake Trailhead. From here you'll hike up the East Fork of Mill Creek, going around a private ranch.  After the bridge, crossing the East Fork, take the trail to Elbow Lake. The trail to the lake is ~8 miles. 4-5 hours is usually required.

There are plenty of campsites at Elbow Lake, mostly on the south side of the lake. The sites are generally well-worn and firewood can be hard to come by. Please use the established campsites and practice LNT principles.  

Routes near Fire Lake can be accessed via a camp at Elbow Lake. This is generally done by hiking into the Fire Lake cirque from the cirque north of Elbow Lake. For routes on the east and northeast side of Cowen, use the faint climber trail that exits at Elbow Lake, just north of the inlet on the lake's east side. Once into the basin on the east side of Cowen, the towers of Eenie, Meenie, Miney and Moe become obvious.