Take a road trip on what travel journalist Charles Kuralt called “America’s most beautiful highway.” The Beartooth Highway can be traveled in a day. However, its spectacular scenery through the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, open high alpine plateaus dotted with many glacial lakes, forested valleys and waterfalls urges travelers to linger. There are also plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation along the way.
Overview of the Beartooth Highway
This scenic 68.7-mile byway in south-central Montana dips briefly into Wyoming before returning to Montana near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The Beartooth Highway traverses the Custer, Shoshone and Gallatin National Forests, showcasing rugged mountains, rare glaciers and alpine meadows as well as wildlife unique to the Northern Rocky Mountains.
The area of the Beartooth Highway is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, featuring 20 mountain peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation with glaciers on the north flank of most peaks. The road itself is the highest elevation highway in Montana and Wyoming, as well as the Northern Rockies.
Outdoor recreation along the Beartooth Highway includes fly fishing in the lakes adjacent to the byway for cutthroat, brook, rainbow and golden trout. Guided horseback trips, hiking across broad plateaus, and viewing and photographing wildlife (from Rocky Mountain goats and moose to black and grizzly bears) are summertime outdoor activities. Winter snow closes the Beartooth Highway to cars, but opens it to snowmobiles and cross-country skiers.
The Beartooth Highway is easily reached from Billings, Montana’s largest city, with an international airport. Stay in Billings hotels ranging from fine hotels downtown to lodges and ranches outside this city. While in Billings, visit museums and art galleries specializing in Western fine art, historical sites (such as the Little Bighorn and Pompey’s Pillar National Monuments), or try fishing, hiking, rock and mountain climbing in the area.
Red Lodge to Top of the World Resort
Just 60 miles southwest of Billings on US-212, Red Lodge is the best place to begin your Beartooth Highway scenic drive. Red Lodge offers summer adventure vacations from white-water rafting and climbing to guided fishing and horseback riding. In winter, Red Lodge is a prime area for snowmobiling, downhill and cross-country skiing. Art galleries, a local museum and nature center offer more activities in Red Lodge. Hotels, inns, bed-and-breakfast establishments and lodges offer a variety of accommodations.
Red Lodge Mountain Ski Area is 10 miles northwest of Red Lodge on Ski Run Road. It has eight ski lifts and a terrain park as well as a 2,400-foot vertical drop for skiers and snowboarders. Summertime brings exceptional golf to the resort, with an 18-hole, Scottish-style course. It also has a driving range, putting/chipping area, pro shop, rentals, clubhouse and bar.
Back on the Beartooth Highway, Rock Creek Vista Point Rest Area occupies both sides of the road, with the vista point on one side of the byway and a picnic area on the other side of the road. Interpretive panels portray the history of the road and mining in the Rock Creek Valley and give information about alpine wildlife and ecosystems. A short hiking trail leads to a ridge with an exceptional view.
The Top of the World Resort, at an elevation of 9,400 feet, is 38 miles from Red Lodge along the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming. The resort offers plenty of outdoor adventure activities – from hiking, fishing and four-wheeling in summer to ice fishing, snowmobiling and snow shoeing in winter. The general store has groceries, gas, local artwork, souvenirs and maps as well as clothing, fishing supplies and licenses. Lodging facilities include a rustic motel and campgrounds.
Overlooks, Cascades and Cooke City
The next stops on the Beartooth Highway are Clay Butte Fire Lookout Tower and Clarks Fork Overlook. The lookout tower is reached by a one-mile hike from the highway. Once you’ve reached this watchtower, panoramic views of mountains over 11,000 feet tall and the Beartooth Plateau are worth the hike. The overlook, five miles farther along the Beartooth Highway, affords a view of the Clarks Fork River in Yellowstone Canyon.
Lake Creek Falls, just past the overlook, is reached by a 200-yard hike to a foot bridge over the falls of Lake Creek. The bridge, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, offers a prime spot for photographing the creek’s rushing waters along granite walls. Crazy Creek Cascade, five miles farther along the highway, can be viewed a half-mile from the parking area. Picnic and camping facilities are located across the highway at Crazy Creek Campground.
Returning to Montana, the next stop on the Beartooth Highway is the Clarks Fork Trailhead, used by many hikers and horseback riders as an entrance into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Cooke City, three miles from the trailhead, is the last stop on the Beartooth Highway. The town has a trading post, gas station and rich mining history. Cooke City is also near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park and has lodging options.
Taking a road trip on the Beartooth Highway affords outdoor adventures, wildlife viewing and amazing scenery. Stay in Red Lodge or Cooke City, Montana, and savor the history and natural beauty along the way.
For more scenic road trips in the Northwest U.S., travel Washington' Cascade Loop, Oregon's Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, North Idaho's Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway, Wyoming's Bighorn Mountain Loop and Alaska's Seward and Glenn Highways.
Susan Lynne Hamilton - Award-winning writer Susan Lynne Hamilton is the Topic Editor of Suite 101's Northwest U.S. travel section, showcasing its rich ...
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