// scenic road
Beartooth Highway
- Category
- scenic road
- Region
- montana
- Distance
- 68.1 mi
- Avg ride time
- 1 hr 31 min
68 miles of US-212 climbing to 10,947 ft over Beartooth Pass — switchbacks, alpine tundra, and the high road into Yellowstone's northeast gate.
// highlights
- mile 3.8
Cooke City, MT
Tiny gateway town to Yellowstone's NE entrance — fuel, food, lodging, and the only resupply heading west into the park.
- mile 26.5
Beartooth Lake
Glacial cirque lake with a campground and quick lakeside pull-off — popular photo stop for the granite spires above.
- mile 26.8
Top of the World Store
Tiny general store, gas, and the only structure for miles on the alpine plateau — open seasonally, cash king.
- mile 36.8
West Summit / Beartooth Pass
The high point at 10,947 ft — alpine tundra, frequent snowfields into July, raw exposure to weather.
- mile 55.4
Rock Creek Vista Point
Major overlook above the switchback wall at 9,190 ft — panoramic view down into Rock Creek Canyon, restrooms.
- mile 67.4
Red Lodge, MT
Eastern terminus town — fuel, food at Cafe Regis, and the easy bailout north on MT-78 to Billings.
// Why this road
The Beartooth is a sustained climb to nearly 11,000 feet, and that elevation is the whole point. From Red Lodge the road gains altitude quickly through a series of tight switchbacks cut into the granite face — you're gaining serious height in a short horizontal distance. Once you crest the plateau, the character shifts completely: long, open curves across alpine tundra where snowfields sit year-round and the horizon is just sky and stone. Then it descends toward Cooke City and the northeast entrance to Yellowstone.
The turns are varied enough that you stay engaged the entire way. Lower sections are technical and demand attention; the high plateau opens into sweepers where you can breathe and look around. The scenery is specific and strange — not forested mountain scenery but genuine high-altitude tundra, the kind that looks more like Iceland than Montana.
Riding east to west (Red Lodge toward Cooke City) puts you on the inside of the switchbacks on the climb, which gives a cleaner line of sight. West to east delivers the big drop down the Red Lodge face as a descent, which some riders prefer. Either direction works; pick based on where you're coming from.
This road has a documented fatality history. The combination of altitude, weather that changes fast, and tight exposed switchbacks means it deserves full attention. Guardrails are minimal or absent in places. Wildlife — including bears — cross regularly near the treeline and above it.
Before you go: The highway typically opens in late May and closes by mid-October, sometimes earlier after early snowfall; check Wyoming DOT and Montana DOT before committing to it as part of a route. Fuel is available in Red Lodge and Cooke City, with nothing reliable in between. Cell coverage is thin to nonexistent across the plateau. If clouds are building over the pass, that's a real weather window — afternoon thunderstorms can drop visibility and deposit rain or hail on cold pavement at elevation.