Beartooth Highway (126 km)

Red Lodge to Yellowstone Northeast Entrance · back a different way, via Chief Joseph Scenic Byway

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Why this ride

A 126 km one-way ride from near Red Lodge, about 2 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: Top of the World, Beartooth Pass and Cooke City. The highest point is about 3,350 m. Beartooth Pass is open in summer only - check it is open before you set off. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. Red Lodge start

   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.

2. Top of the World scenic

   Somewhere on the Beartooth Highway the trees give up, and at the place called Top of the World you are standing in a landscape that belongs to the sky. The plateau is a rolling tundra of grass, sedge and tiny flowers, with granite boulders, snowfields and small lakes, and the horizon is mountains in every direction. At more than ten thousand feet it feels like a different planet from the Montana prairie far below, and the wind carries a sharpness that makes you reach for another layer.

   This is the Beartooth Plateau, the largest high-altitude plateau in the contiguous United States, a block of ancient granite that was scoured by glaciers and holds some of the oldest exposed rock in North America. Hundreds of small lakes sit in the hollows, and in July the tundra bursts into colour with alpine forget-me-nots, moss campion and paintbrush. Mountain goats can be seen on the slopes, marmots whistle from the rocks, and pikas squeak from piles of stones. The air is thin and cold, and clouds can form and dissolve within minutes.

   The highway that crosses it, US 212, was opened in the 1930s and has been called the most beautiful drive in America by a famous television journalist. It climbs from Red Lodge in Montana in a spectacular series of switchbacks and crosses the plateau before dropping toward Wyoming. It is a seasonal road, usually open from late spring to mid-autumn, and snow can fall on any day of the year, so check conditions before you go. The surface is generally good, but frost heaves, gravel and sudden fog or sleet can catch riders out. Start early, dress for winter in July, and watch for wildlife and tourists stopping suddenly.

   A small store and lodge sometimes operate at the Top of the World stop in summer, but you cannot count on them. Red Lodge, about twenty-seven kilometres below, is a lively little town with petrol stations, restaurants and shops, and it is the place to fill the tank and eat well before the climb. On the other side, Cooke City has limited services. Carry water, snacks and a rain jacket.

   Stay a moment in the quiet and watch the clouds move across the tundra. It is one of the great places to feel small.

3. Beartooth Pass scenic · 3337 m

   At 10,947 feet, Beartooth Pass is the highest point on the Beartooth Highway, and the top of the road in every sense. The summit is a broad saddle of bare rock and tundra, with a pull-off, a plaque and a view over the Absaroka and Beartooth ranges that goes on until the air gets hazy. The peaks that give the range its name stand to the north, their jagged granite spires said to resemble bears' teeth, and snowfields cling to the shaded slopes well into summer.

   The road to the pass is one of the best mountain rides in the United States. From Red Lodge the highway climbs in a series of long switchbacks to the plateau, with steep drops and no guard rail in places, and the views over the valley widen with every hairpin. Over the top, it winds along open ridges to the Wyoming border and down toward Cooke City and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. It took years of work to build, and it opened in 1936. The surface is generally good, though frost damage and patches of gravel are common, and sudden hailstorms can turn the road greasy. Traffic is light early in the morning, heavier by midday, with plenty of motorcyclists and campers.

   The seasons rule everything. The road is typically open from around Memorial Day to mid-October, but snow can close it at almost any time, and even in July you may find ice on the road. Weather changes fast, so a clear morning may turn to freezing rain by afternoon, and lightning is a real danger on the open tundra. The thin air can make newcomers breathless, so take it easy and drink water.

   Wildlife is part of the scene. Mountain goats and bighorn sheep appear on the rocks, and grizzly bears roam the surrounding country, so never leave food out. Small lakes dot the plateau, and the wildflowers in July are spectacular.

   Red Lodge, about thirty kilometres below, is the place to fill up, and Cooke City on the far side has limited supplies. Carry layers, gloves and a rain jacket, and give yourself time. The pass is not a place to hurry.

4. Cooke City scenic

   Cooke City is a one-street mining town in the corner of Montana, perched at roughly 2,300 metres in a valley that feels cut off from everything else. It is the last settlement on the eastern end of the Beartooth Highway, only a few kilometres from the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, and it sits so deep in the mountains that its main road is the only one in Yellowstone's neighbourhood that stays open to cars all winter. Snow here is serious. The town, along with its tiny neighbour Silver Gate, spends half the year under drifts and the other half welcoming motorcyclists who have come over the pass.

   The reason for the town's existence is metal. Prospectors found silver, lead, copper and gold in these mountains in the 1860s and 1870s, and the settlement took its name from a financier who backed some of the early mining. The boom never quite became the bonanza people hoped for, partly because of the sheer difficulty of getting ore out through such rugged country, and in the 1990s a proposed new mine just outside Yellowstone's boundary became a national fight that ended with the federal government buying out the company. Old cabins, mine buildings and a few historic false-front shops give Cooke City a frontier look that is mostly genuine.

   For riders, the town is the reward at the end of one of America's great mountain roads. Coming down from the Beartooth plateau, the highway drops through switchbacks and alpine meadows into the valley, and you roll into town with the peaks of the Absaroka range around you. The road from the east is only open from late spring to early autumn, and snow can still shut it in June or September, so check conditions before committing. From Cooke City you can continue west through the Lamar Valley, a road that rewards slow riding with bison, elk and, if you are lucky, wolves.

   Fuel is available in town, which matters, because services are thin on both sides. There are a few places to eat, a handful of motels and lodges, and a general store, and in summer they fill quickly, so book a bed if you plan to stay the night. The nights are cold even in August, and the thin air makes the stars very sharp. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, which also arrives here, follows the route the Nez Perce took in 1877 when they fled the US Army across these mountains, and it adds a layer of history to a corner that already feels like the edge of the map.

5. Yellowstone Northeast Entrance finish

   The northeast entrance to Yellowstone is a quiet gate on a quiet road, a small log-framed sign among spruce and meadow near the Montana-Wyoming border, a few miles beyond the two tiny settlements of Silver Gate and Cooke City. Most visitors enter Yellowstone through other gates, so this one feels like a back door, and that is part of its charm. At well over seven thousand feet, it is cool even in summer, and the air smells of pine and cold water.

   What lies beyond is Lamar Valley, often called the Serengeti of North America. It is a broad, grassy valley where bison, elk, pronghorn and coyotes graze, and wolves, reintroduced to the park in the mid-1990s, are watched through spotting scopes by dedicated enthusiasts at dawn and dusk. Grizzly bears wander the hillsides. The animals move on their own timetable, and on a motorbike you should keep your distance, never approach or feed them, and stop only at pull-outs. Bison can block the road entirely, and a wait is part of the experience.

   The road from the Beartooth Pass descends toward the gate in long, loping bends, through high plateaus of rock and tundra and then into forest, with the jagged peaks of the Absaroka range crowding the horizon. Between here and the interior, the road follows Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River, with easy curves, a good surface and scenery that is gentle after the drama of the pass. Speed limits in the park are low, and rangers enforce them, so take your time. Weather changes quickly, with snow possible even in summer.

   This is the only road in the park that stays open to wheeled traffic all winter, since it links the park with Cooke City, which makes it a lifeline for the small communities beyond. Cooke City and Silver Gate have basic services, but supplies are limited and prices are high, so take fuel and snacks with you. The park charges an entrance fee, which covers a motorcycle for several days. Mosquitoes in June can be fierce, so carry repellent, and bring a good camera with a long lens.

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