Red Lodge is the doorstep of the Beartooth Highway, and it knows it. A small town of just over two thousand people in south-central Montana, it sits at around five and a half thousand feet where the Beartooth Mountains meet the plains, and its main street of brick buildings, saloons, outfitters and cafes is lined with flower baskets in summer. Behind it, the huge granite wall of the range rises in a ragged line, still carrying snow in July.
The town began as a coal mining centre, and the mines drew immigrants from Finland, Italy, Scotland and Eastern Europe, so the place still has Scandinavian bakeries, Italian restaurants, and an annual festival of nations. The mines are long closed, and tourism and skiing have taken over, plus a rodeo that is still a local institution. It is a friendly and unpretentious place, and bikers are common on summer weekends.
The Beartooth Highway, US 212, is one of the most celebrated mountain roads in America, and the television journalist Charles Kuralt called it the most beautiful drive in the country. It leaves the town in a series of switchbacks, climbs across a high plateau scattered with lakes and boulders, and tops out at Beartooth Pass at almost eleven thousand feet. The air is thin, the temperature can drop by twenty degrees, and snow can fall in any month. The road is typically closed from mid-October until around Memorial Day, and it may shut temporarily at other times, so check conditions before you set out.
Fuel in Red Lodge before you go, because the highway and the little settlements beyond have limited supplies. Wear warm gear and rain protection, and make an early start to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms that build over the peaks. You may see mountain goats, marmots and pika on the rocks, and in the valleys, moose and elk. Pull off at the viewpoints to take in the glacial cirques and the long, wild drop toward Wyoming. In the evenings, a cold beer on Main Street feels like a reward.