Beartooth Highway

From the small town of Red Lodge, Montana, this road crosses the 3,337 m Beartooth Pass to reach the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone. It is a scenic highway widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in America.

The Beartooth Highway is a section of U.S. Route 212. It opened in 1936. It starts in Red Lodge, Montana, climbs the Beartooth Plateau with a series of continuous switchbacks, and crosses Beartooth Pass at 3,337 m, the highest highway in Wyoming. Along the way, it passes dozens of alpine cirque lakes and tundra. It then continues through Cooke City to the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The route is about 110 km long. CBS anchor Charles Kuralt called it 'the most beautiful road in America'. Stops along the way include the Rock Creek Vista Point south of Red Lodge, the summit viewpoint at Beartooth Pass, Twin Lakes, the Top of the World Store, the Clay Butte fire lookout tower, and the junction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. Once you leave Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance, you enter the Lamar Valley, where wildlife is most abundant. Driving without stopping takes about 2 hours. A half day to a full day is recommended. You can combine it with Yellowstone, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and Cody to make a loop. The road usually opens in late May and closes in mid-October. It may also be temporarily closed by blizzards during the open season. The thin air at high altitude means you should keep warm and watch for altitude sickness. Many sections of the pass have no guardrails, so avoid driving at night.

Along the route

  1. Red Lodge
  2. Rock Creek Vista Point
  3. Yellowstone National Park
  4. Twin Lakes
  5. Clay Butte
  6. Cooke City
  7. Yellowstone National Park
  8. Yellowstone National Park