Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway, U.S. Highway 212 between Red Lodge, Montana and Cooke City at Yellowstone’s northeast entrance, is one of the most celebrated drives in the American West — a 68-mile National Scenic Byway ascending from the Clark’s Fork Yellowstone River valley through a series of dramatic switchbacks to the broad, treeless Beartooth Plateau at nearly 11,000 feet, traversing alpine tundra above timberline for miles before descending to the Cooke City gateway.

Charles Kuralt called the Beartooth Highway “the most beautiful drive in America” — a designation the road earns with its succession of switchbacks carved across the face of Rock Creek Canyon, its summit at 10,947 feet (Beartooth Pass), its panoramic views of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and the Beartooth Range, and its window onto one of the finest alpine tundra landscapes in the Lower 48. The highway is open only from late May through mid-October; the rest of the year it is buried under 20 or more feet of snow.

Late June through mid-September is the core season — the highway typically opens in late May (snowplows clear 20-foot snowdrifts from the switchbacks each spring) but the plateau snow lingers through June, creating the dramatic juxtaposition of summer wildflowers and snowfields that makes the late-June drive extraordinary. July is the alpine wildflower peak — the Beartooth Plateau in full bloom, with sky-blue gentian, yellow arnica and purple fleabane in the tundra and snow still visible in the north-facing cirques, is one of the most beautiful summer landscapes in the American West. August and early September are excellent for the clearest views (the summer haze clears). The highway closes in mid-October (and sometimes earlier in heavy-snow years); always check road conditions with USFS or WYDOT before driving.

The Beartooth Highway was proposed in the late 1920s as a scenic alternative approach to Yellowstone and was completed in 1936 under the New Deal, with the Civilian Conservation Corps and federal highway engineers carving the roadway across the face of Rock Creek Canyon and the Beartooth Plateau — a construction feat involving blasting switchbacks through sheer granite walls and laying pavement across a high-altitude plateau that is snowbound 9 months per year. The highway follows a corridor long used by the Crow people (who called the Beartooth Range their homeland) and by early fur trappers. The surrounding Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (established 1978) encompasses 943,626 acres of Custer Gallatin and Shoshone National Forest, one of the largest wilderness areas in the Lower 48. The highway is managed by USFS and the Montana and Wyoming Departments of Transportation.

The Beartooth Plateau is one of the most ancient exposed landscapes in North America — a broad, erosion-resistant surface of Precambrian granite and gneiss, approximately 2.7-3.2 billion years old (some of the oldest rocks exposed at the surface in the continental United States). The plateau is a classic “relict surface” — a remnant of an ancient Precambrian terrain that survived burial and unroofing largely intact, now exposed at 10,000-11,000 feet as a result of Laramide uplift (70-50 million years ago). The glacier-carved lakes, cirques and U-shaped valleys on the plateau surface reflect intense Pleistocene glaciation (repeated ice-sheet glaciations over the last 2.5 million years). The Red Lodge canyon walls (Rock Creek Canyon) expose the Precambrian basement overlain by Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, providing a cross-section through the plateau’s geological history. The 3-billion-year-old basement, the Laramide uplift and the Pleistocene glaciation created the Beartooth landscape.

The Beartooth Highway corridor and surrounding Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness support one of the finest wildlife communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem — grizzly bear (the plateau and surrounding forest are prime grizzly habitat; the corridor is an active grizzly movement zone between Yellowstone and the northern wilderness areas), gray wolf (the Yellowstone packs range throughout the surrounding forest), moose (the willows and riparian areas near the plateau lakes support a resident moose population), pronghorn (the open plateau supports pronghorn in summer), bighorn sheep (visible on the rocky slopes near the highway), mountain goat (occasionally visible on the steepest cliffs), white-tailed ptarmigan (the resident alpine grouse of the high plateau), and American pika (abundant in the boulder fields near the summit). The grizzly bear and the Greater Yellowstone wildlife community are the defining wildlife feature.

The Beartooth Plateau’s alpine tundra ecosystem is one of the most pristine and extensive above-treeline landscapes in the Lower 48 — the combination of the plateau’s ancient geology, its remoteness, and the short growing season (6-8 weeks above treeline) supports an exceptional diversity of alpine tundra plants including rare cushion plants, arctic-alpine disjuncts, and native sedge and grass communities. The plateau’s glacier-carved lake network (hundreds of lakes on the plateau surface) supports cutthroat trout (the native Yellowstone cutthroat is present in some systems) and serves as critical breeding habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. The Beartooth Plateau is considered one of the finest examples of alpine tundra in the American Rockies and is a sensitive climate indicator — the shrinking snowfields and retreating glaciers on the plateau are measurable indicators of climate change in the Greater Yellowstone region.

The Beartooth Highway holds a treasured place in American road-travel culture — consistently ranked among the most spectacular drives in the United States, celebrated by Charles Kuralt as “the most beautiful drive in America,” and serving as the most dramatic approach to Yellowstone’s northeast entrance for generations of visitors. The highway’s construction (a 1930s New Deal project that carved switchbacks across a nearly vertical granite canyon face) is an engineering landmark in its own right. The surrounding Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness — one of the largest federally designated wilderness areas in the Lower 48 — preserves the roadless landscape that makes the highway’s panoramas so extraordinary. The Beartooth Highway is a defining icon of the Montana and Wyoming high-mountain experience.

The Beartooth Highway (US-212) enters from the Montana side at Red Lodge (100 miles southwest of Billings via I-90 west and US-212 south) and exits at Cooke City, Montana (adjacent to Yellowstone’s northeast entrance). Red Lodge is the primary gateway town, with full services (hotels, restaurants, gear shops, and an excellent downtown). The highway is closed roughly mid-October through late May; always verify the current opening date with the Custer Gallatin National Forest or Montana DOT before planning a trip. A free scenic byway — no highway entrance fee. Gas up in Red Lodge before ascending; the next fuel is in Cooke City. The highway is a day-use drive from both ends; camping is available in Red Lodge and Cooke City and at USFS campgrounds near the highway.

The Custer Gallatin National Forest manages the highway corridor; the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness preserves the surrounding landscape. The most critical conservation concern on the Beartooth Plateau is trampling of alpine tundra vegetation — stay on designated trails and parking-area edges when stopping along the highway; never walk across the cushion-plant and sedge tundra (recovery from compaction at high elevation takes decades). The grizzly bear corridor along the highway requires bear-aware behavior at all stops: carry bear spray, never leave food in vehicles (black bears and grizzlies are present and opportunistic), and report all grizzly sightings to the USFS. The highway’s seasonal closure is the primary management tool that protects the plateau from year-round impact.

The Beartooth Highway’s most serious hazard is afternoon weather — severe thunderstorms, hail, snow squalls and high-wind events can develop on the plateau with very little warning in summer, particularly from 1-4 PM; carry warm layers, rain gear and extra food and water regardless of the morning forecast (the plateau weather is independent of the valley below). The highway can be icy and snowy even in July on the high sections; drive slowly and watch for ice in shaded areas after any weather event. Wildlife on the road — especially grizzly bears, moose and deer at dawn and dusk — require slow, alert driving. The switchbacks on the Red Lodge side are steep and winding; drive at posted speeds. Mountain altitude (10,947 feet) causes altitude sickness in some visitors from lower elevations; rest and hydrate. The weather, the wildlife, the altitude and the switchbacks require attentive driving.

No fee to drive the Beartooth Highway. The highway is typically open late May through mid-October; check current road status at USFS or Montana DOT before driving. Speed limits are posted and strictly enforced on the switchbacks. Camping within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness requires a free wilderness permit for groups. Campfires prohibited above treeline. No off-road vehicles on the highway or adjacent tundra. Pets on leash at all trailheads and highway pullouts. Bears are active throughout the corridor; follow all food-storage regulations. Check USFS Custer Gallatin for current regulations, campground availability and any road conditions before visiting.

Red Lodge, Montana (the eastern gateway — a charming mountain town with a historic downtown, an excellent ski area at Red Lodge Mountain, and full services), Cooke City and Silver Gate (the western gateway villages adjacent to Yellowstone’s northeast entrance — the Lamar Valley, the premier wolf and wildlife watching corridor in Yellowstone, is 3 miles west of Cooke City), Yellowstone National Park (accessible from Cooke City via the Lamar Valley — the most wildlife-rich landscape in the lower 48), the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness (surrounding the highway — 943,000 acres of roadless alpine wilderness), and the Clark’s Fork Yellowstone River valley define the region. The Beartooth Highway is the most spectacular approach to Yellowstone and the finest single alpine drive in the Northern Rockies.

Drive the highway east-to-west (Red Lodge toward Cooke City) in the morning, starting at 7 AM from Red Lodge — the switchback ascent faces east and catches the morning light on the Rock Creek Canyon walls, the plateau is at its clearest before afternoon clouds build, and you arrive at Cooke City in time for lunch and an afternoon in the Lamar Valley for wildlife watching. Stop at the Rock Creek Vista Point overlook (about 10 miles up from Red Lodge) for the first full view of the canyon; stop at the summit pullout (Beartooth Pass, 10,947 feet) for the panoramic view of the plateau; and stop at the Island Lake trailhead for a short hike onto the tundra. The late-June timing — when the snowplows have just cleared the highway and the wildflowers are pushing through the tundra next to snowfields — is the most dramatic and photogenic week of the year.