Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway is the 68-mile stretch of US-212 from Red Lodge, Montana, to Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance by way of Cooke City. It is an All-American Road, and Charles Kuralt called it "the most beautiful drive in America". It climbs out of Red Lodge in a series of switchbacks onto the high Beartooth Plateau, past lakes typical of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, then drops to Cooke City and the park.

The highest point, Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet, is in Wyoming, not Montana. US-212 crosses the state line more than once, so the drive begins and ends in Montana but spends its highest miles in Wyoming. Altitude sickness is a real risk at the top, and snowstorms can hit even in summer, so carry warm clothes and water.

Construction started in 1931 and the road opened in June 1936, roughly along the route Gen. Philip Sheridan followed across the range in 1872. Mudslides and rockslides in 2005 closed it for about a year while it was rebuilt. The National Park Service plows and maintains much of the road even though it lies outside the park, and the Montana Department of Transportation looks after the Montana sections.

The road usually opens on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and closes in mid-October. In 2026 the Montana side opened to Vista Point on May 22 and the Wyoming side the next day after fresh snow, so the whole road was open from May 23. The season ended early: the highway closed at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026, ahead of a heavy snowstorm, instead of the planned October 12 or 13. It will stay closed until late May 2027. The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296) branches off in Wyoming toward Cody; it is plowed as needed in winter, but the Beartooth link to it from Red Lodge closes for the season. In winter Cooke City can be reached only through Yellowstone from Gardiner.

Allow at least two hours one way between Red Lodge and Cooke City without stops, and most of a day for a round trip. Fill up in Red Lodge, since services are few between there and Cooke City. Even in season, temporary closures can come without warning, so check 511mt.net and Wyoming's road map before setting out.