Traveling the Beartooth Highway

If plans for your next summer road trip include traversing the Beartooth Highway, I offer some simple advice.

Make sure you have a lodging reservation at the end of the day, and forgo any kind of time schedule.

The 68 miles of Beartooth Highway, officially known as the Beartooth All-American Road, is the destination itself. Each turn brings new vistas, each pullout another photo opportunity, each stop a new adventure.

My wife, two children and I devoted a day earlier this month to traveling the famed highway. Along the way, we oohed at the distant mountains stretching for the clouds, laughed at the brazen chipmunk that jumped atop a man’s head in search of a free meal, huddled from the cold wind that swept over us atop the 10,947-foot pass and stopped to take scores of photos – the next turn seemed to always reveal a better view.

We arranged our travels – and reservations – so we would cross the road east to west from Red Lodge to Cooke City, Mont.

Making lodging arrangements is crucial. The normal summer vacation traffic is increased in late July and early August by the constant rumble of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, many headed to or coming from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Cooke City also is the gateway community at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Both towns have varied lodging options, but many are full weeks in advance.

My favorite stretch of the Beartooth was from Rock Creek Vista Point to Beartooth Pass, the highest point on the road. The road climbed through the final few trees, then opened into expansive meadows filled with wildflowers. In spots, the meadows seemed more blue than green because of the lush carpet of lupine.

The vistas seemed to stretch forever. From the Rock Creek vista, you could see people camping along the creek thousands of feet below you. The snow-capped peaks of the Absaroka Range stretched north and south.

At Beartooth Pass ski area, we briefly played in a snow bank, then looked down the Twin Lakes Headwall into a valley pocked with lakes of all sizes.

All along the way, there are numerous places to stop and explore – waterfalls, a fire tower, trails, picnic spots, historical sites and a small store amid the mountain splendor.

Not even a delay for road construction could distract us. My son and I passed the time plucking bugs from the grill of our vehicle, tossing them off a small bridge to small trout in the stream below.

Most publications say it takes two hours to make the trip from Red Lodge to Cooke City. Forget that. The numerous switchbacks, pullouts and views require travel at a slower pace. The Beartooth Highway is a journey that should not be bound by time.

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640
jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure

BEARTOOTH FACTS

Built: The road opened on June 14, 1936, after five years of construction costing $1.1 million.

Length: 68.7 miles of U.S. 212 from Red Lodge, Mont., to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Official designation: Designated a National Scenic Byways All-American Road on June 13, 2002.

Elevation of Beartooth Pass: 10,947 feet, more than 750 feet higher than Camp Muir on Mount Rainier.

High points: The road is the highest highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet). It also is the highest highway in the Northern Rockies.

Popular route: The Montana Department of Transportation said an average of about 1,200 vehicles travel the highway each day.

When to go: Generally open the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to mid October, depending on snow conditions.

Information: beartoothhighway.com, byways.org/explore/byways/2281/index.html.