📷 Photo by Donald Giannatti on UnsplashBeartooth Highway
A high switchback road over the Beartooth Plateau between Red Lodge, Montana, and Yellowstone's northeast entrance.
- Length
- 68 mi
- Top elevation
- 10,947 ft
- Suggested time
- 1 day
- Open
- late May–mid Oct
Before you go
- Weather at the top can change within minutes, and snow is possible any month.
- Allow at least three hours for photo stops.
- The Top of the World store is the only fuel stop, so fill up in Red Lodge or Cooke City.
The drive
From Red Lodge, the road climbs a series of tight switchbacks onto an alpine plateau dotted with glacial lakes. Mountain goats often graze near the pass. The descent toward Cooke City passes Beartooth Lake and Pilot Peak before reaching Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.
FAQs
When is the Beartooth Highway open?
It usually opens in late May and closes in mid-October, depending on snow. Opening dates change every year.
Places to see
© Astroval1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Old Faithful
Erupts roughly every 60 to 110 minutes. Rangers post the predicted time in the visitor center.
Photo by Laminda Nickla on UnsplashGrand Prismatic Spring
A hot spring bigger than a football field, ringed with orange and yellow microbial mats. See it from the…
© Eric Niebler eniebler4 · CC0Beartooth Pass
US-212 climbs switchbacks to 10,947 feet between Red Lodge and Yellowstone. There can be snow walls into July.
© Michael Gäbler · CC BY 3.0Oxbow Bend
Mount Moran reflected in a still bend of the Snake River. Moose and otters show up at dawn.
