Heart Lake el. 7461 feet (2,274.1 m) is a large backcountry lake, nestled at the base of Mount Sheridan

Mount Sheridan

Mount Sheridan el. is a prominent mountain peak overlooking Heart Lake in the Red Mountains of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named in honor of General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army, one of the early protectors of the park.-History:...

 in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

. Heart Lake is in the Snake River

Snake River

The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...

 drainage and is drained by the Heart River

Heart River (Wyoming)

The Heart River is a river in the U.S. state of Wyoming, tributary to the Snake River. Its entire course is contained inside Yellowstone National Park. The river rises on the Continental Divide, in the Rocky Mountains, a few miles southeast of Yellowstone Lake...

.

History

Heart Lake was apparently named sometime prior to 1871 for a local 1840s hunter, Hart Hunney, a fact that was later verified by Hiram Chittenden. In 1871, Captain John W. Barlow

John W. Barlow

John Whitney Barlow was a career officer in the United States Army. During and after the American Civil War, he was noted for his engineering talents.-Biography:...

 thought the name was Heart Lake because of it shape and the name became its official name. During the Arnold Hague

Arnold Hague

Arnold Hague was a United States geologist who did many geological surveys in the U.S., of which the best known was that for Yellowstone National Park. He also had assignments in China and Guatemala. He became a member of the U. S...

 Geologic Surveys, Chittenden petitioned Hague to change the name back to Hart, but Hague thought that Heart Lake was named because of the lake's shape and refused to change it.

Heart Lake Geyser Basin

The Heart Lake Geyser Basin begins a couple miles from the lake and descends along Witch Creek to the lakeshore. Five groups of hydrothermal features comprise the basin, and all of them contain geysers, although some are dormant.

Angling Heart Lake

Heart Lake holds Cutthroat Trout

Cutthroat trout

The cutthroat trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is one of the many fish species colloquially known as trout...

, Lake Trout

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

, and Mountain whitefish

Mountain whitefish

The mountain whitefish is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territory, Canada south through western Canada and the northwestern USA in the Pacific, Hudson Bay and upper Missouri River basins to the...

. Lake Trout were introduced in the 1890s. Angling is restricted to Fly fishing

Fly fishing

Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...

 or artificial lures. All Cutthoat Trout and Whitefish must be released. There is no limit on the number of Lake Trout harvested. The park record Lake Trout, 42 lbs was caught in Heart Lake.

Heart Lake is 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from the south entrance road at Lewis Lake

Lewis Lake (Wyoming)

Lewis Lake is located in the U. S. state of Wyoming in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park, about southeast of Shoshone Lake, and approximately southwest of Yellowstone Lake. Lewis Lake and Shoshone Lake are both located a few miles northeast of the Pitchstone Plateau.The Lewis River...

 via the Heart Lake trail. Heart Lake can also be reached via the Trail Creek trail that traverses the southern shoreline of Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park, The lake is 7,732 feet above sea level and covers with 110 miles of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is 139 feet its deepest spot is at least 390 feet...

 or via the Heart River

Heart River (Wyoming)

The Heart River is a river in the U.S. state of Wyoming, tributary to the Snake River. Its entire course is contained inside Yellowstone National Park. The river rises on the Continental Divide, in the Rocky Mountains, a few miles southeast of Yellowstone Lake...

 trail/Snake River trail from the park's southern border.

Heart Lake is within the Heart Lake Bear Management Area and access to the area is closed between April 1 and June 1 annually.