Event Description

Maps, elevation profile, and information can be found on the Yellowstone City 30K Facebook event page. This race covers 18 miles of gravel road, USFS dirt and scree jeep roads, and trails directly below Emigrant Peak in Paradise Valley. It climbs from 5,000 feet in Emigrant to 8,000 feet near Emigrant Peak, and descends to the finish line at Chico Hot Springs in Pray Montana at 5,250 feet. Starting near the Yellowstone River at the Sage Lodge on Chico Cemetery Road in Emigrant, Montana, you will run past the site of the historic Yellowstone City* gold settlement (c. 1864-1866) where some of the first gold seekers came to Montana to find fortune. Continue to Old Chico**, and turn right up Emigrant Gulch. This is a dirt/scree jeep road that travels between steep canyon walls and past abandoned mines and has several steep sections. Your feet will get wet running through Emigrant Creek and you will continue up to the turn-around at the aid station near the St. Julian Mine (c. 1906). Pick up your Chico swim nickel at the turnaround, that is how you "get your gold". Descend out of the gulch, turn right at Old Chico road and run down to the finish line at Chico Hot Springs. Afterwards, gather for awards, beer and lunch provided by Chico Hot Springs. Run the Yellowstone City 30K and experience an amazing area that few people will experience like you will. Yellowstone City 30K runners will know why “Yellowstone is more Valuable than Gold”!
There will be trucker hats for everyone and awards for the top 3 male and female finishers, and 1st male and female masters.
*Yellowstone City was a site on the flat near the present dredge pond. It became the eastern-most town in Montana when snows in October 20, 1864, drove the miners down from the Gulch.The mining camps of Yellowstone City, and later, Old Chico became established by means of trespass on Crow tribal lands. In 1876, Crow scouts serving under Lieutenant James Bradley called Emigrant Gulch "Mu-Ni-Ah-Noot-Su," or "how they get their money."
**Old Chico was where those living in Yellowstone City moved to when they became hesitant to live there any longer after conflicts with local Crow Indians.
Source Emigrant Gulch, Searching for Gold in Park County, Montana - Doris Withorn, and Park County, Montana.