Cooke City is a one-street mountain town in the far corner of Montana, and nobody drives to it by accident. It sits at around 7,600 feet beside Soda Butte Creek, just outside the northeast entrance to Yellowstone, and its twin, Silver Gate, lies a mile to the east. Together they are home to a few hundred people in summer and fewer than a hundred in the long winters, when the snow can be deep enough to bury the ground floor of the buildings.
The town began with gold. Prospectors came here in the 1860s and 1870s, and mining claims spread across the surrounding mountains, but the remote location and the difficulty of moving ore made it a hard place to get rich. The main street still has wooden false fronts and a few old buildings, and it has the character of a place that has outlived its original purpose and found a second life with visitors.
For riders, it is one of the best bases in the northern Rockies. The Beartooth Highway starts a few miles east, climbing to almost 11,000 feet before dropping into Red Lodge, Montana, in a series of broad switchbacks that many call one of the most beautiful roads in America. West of town, the road runs through Lamar Valley, in Yellowstone, where bison and wolves are often seen. The Beartooth is closed by snow for much of the year, normally opening in late May and closing in mid October, so check the dates.
Cooke City has fuel, motels, a few restaurants and a general store. Supplies are limited and prices are higher than in Cody, as everything has to be brought a long way. The pumps are small and may close early, so fill up when you can. Expect cold nights even in July, and be ready for rain or snow in any month.
Wildlife is abundant. Grizzlies and black bears roam the valleys, moose feed in the willows, and mountain goats and bighorn sheep appear on the cliffs above. Take bear precautions seriously. The sky at night is very dark and, with luck, filled with stars. After a long ride from Cody over the pass, a hot meal here is as welcome as anything you will eat on the trip.