Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Pinal Airpark
Note the chrysanthemum crests.
Hachiman Bridge
Clarendon War Memorial.
Clarendon War Memorial
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Everything at Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe is served in takeout containers.
Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
The fried green tomato sandwich comes on jalapeño cornbread toast.
Café Reconcile
BBQ shrimp braised in beer are a popular menu item.
High Hat Cafe
The pastries at Lagniappe Bakehouse are worth waking up for.
Lagniappe Bakehouse
Peter Vazquez has been quietly making a name for himself for years.
The Appetite Repair Shop
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Haleakalā National Park’s summit region, shrouded in the pre-dawn fog.
Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs
12 days ago
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
13 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
14 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
15 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Montana Park County Grasshopper Glacier
AO Edited

Grasshopper Glacier

A rapidly disappearing glacier filled with extinct grasshoppers, perfectly preserved in the ice.

Park County, Montana

Added By
Momba7
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Mostly melted Grasshopper Glacier.   James Williams / CC BY-SA 2.0
Mostly melted Grasshopper Glacier.   James Williams / CC BY-SA 2.0
Camp above Grasshopper Glacier.   Slosheroni / CC BY-SA 2.0
Grasshopper Glacier from above.   US Geological Survey/Public Domain
Grasshopper Glacier in 1916.   Library of Congress/LC-USZ62-136276
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

About 70 miles southwest of Billings, Montana, in the Beartooth Mountains of Custer National Forest, a bizarre snowfield sits at 11,000 feet above sea level. Unlike most glaciers, whose tops are pure white, this formation is a very different color, first described in the early 1900s as akin to “the skin of an elephant.”

Grasshopper Glacier gets its bizarre appearance from tens of millions of grasshoppers—locusts, to be precise—entombed in its icy domain. The most popular theory for the glacier's multitude of frozen bugs is that centuries ago, a swarm of billions of locusts were migrating over the Rocky Mountains when they were trapped by a massive winter storm. The ice has frozen these specimens in time, like an untamed, living portal to a world that once was.

Grasshopper Glacier was discovered in the early 1900s by geologist J.P. Kimball. When he sent samples of the insect species to the U.S. Bureau of Entomology in 1914, it was discovered that they were Rocky Mountain locusts, a species that went extinct over a century ago, possibly because their eggs were run over by the plows of farmers in the American West. 

Unfortunately, due to global warming, Grasshopper Glacier has shrunk considerably—from a length of five miles in preindustrial times to less than a mile today. To witness this piece of living biological history, be sure to visit soon, before it all melts.

Related Tags

Glaciers Insects Extinct Animals Bug Ice Preserved Specimens

Know Before You Go

Hiking Grasshopper Glacier is only possible from late July to September. To access the Glacier, head south on Highway 212 toward Cooke City and turn north onto Lulu-Goose Lake Road. From there, you must walk the four-mile trail that heads up an old road to Goose Lake. The trail then heads northeast to a column connecting Sawtooth Mountain and Iceberg Peak. Grasshopper Glacier is attached to Iceberg Peak on the north side, just past the first rock ridge.

Community Contributors

Added By

Momba7

Edited By

lewblank, Samir S Patel

  • lewblank
  • Samir S Patel

Published

May 23, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.backpacker.com/trips/cooke-city-mt-grasshopper-glacier
  • http://formontana.net/grasshopper.html
  • http://nandugreen.typepad.com/chasing_the_wind/grasshopperglacier.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper_Glacier_(Montana)
  • https://www.allredlodge.com/mountains/grasshopper_glacier.php
Grasshopper Glacier
Lulu Pass Trail Rd
Beartooth Mountains, Custer National Forest
Park County, Montana
United States
45.132621, -109.882639
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Granite Peak

miles away

Tippet Rise Art Center

Fishtail, Montana

miles away

Chromium Mill Ruins

Red Lodge, Montana

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montana

Montana

United States

Places 66
Stories 20

Nearby Places

Granite Peak

miles away

Tippet Rise Art Center

Fishtail, Montana

miles away

Chromium Mill Ruins

Red Lodge, Montana

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montana

Montana

United States

Places 66
Stories 20

Related Stories and Lists

Grasshopper Glacier

Podcast

By The Podcast Team

How to Write an Opera About Locusts

insects

By Cara Giaimo

Related Places

  • Full cave from mouth

    Delta Junction, Alaska

    Castner Glacier Ice Cave

    An icy behemoth that towers over you with a blue ice cave in the winter and a roaring creek in the summer.

  • Ilulissat Icefjord

    Ilulissat, Greenland

    Ilulissat Icefjord Center

    A remote Arctic museum focusing on the science of icebergs and the archaeology of an ancient Inuit settlement which lies just outside its doors.

  • Iceland

    Diamond Beach

    A black sand beach where glacial fragments wash ashore and look like sparkling diamonds.

  • Iceland

    Heinabergslón

    A little-known, yet charming glacial lagoon.

  • Skarpnäcks Gård, Sweden

    Jättegrytan i Skarpnäck (Skarpnäck Giant's Kettle)

    This hole formed by a glacier is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in Stockholm.

  • Jeongseon, South Korea

    Grasshopper's Dream Cafe

    Along a rail-biking route, giant insects house a two-story restaurant.

  • Siachen Glacier.

    India / Pakistan

    Siachen Glacier

    This disputed mass of ice is home to the highest battleground on Earth.

  • An iceberg drifts down Iceberg Alley.

    Newfoundland and Labrador

    Iceberg Alley

    Hundreds of enormous icebergs drift through this waterway every year.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.