Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Beartooth Highway, Red Lodge, MT

Photo: Phil Armitage, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureIconicFree

Beartooth Highway

US-212 between Red Lodge and Cooke City · Red Lodge, MT

Why you should go…

The Beartooth Highway is a section of US Route 212 that climbs from Red Lodge, Montana, through switchbacks into Wyoming, crests Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet and drops back into Montana near Cooke City. Built between 1932 and 1936, it is an All-American Road with scenic pullouts, interpretive displays and day hikes along the way. Allow at least two to three hours for the drive. Snow often lingers at the high elevations into July, and hikers should carry bear spray.

  • #scenic drive
  • #mountain pass
  • #all-american road
  • #road trip
  • #yellowstone gateway

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Beartooth Highway, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Red Lodge

    Free

    Historic Montana mountain town and gateway to Yellowstone via the scenic Beartooth Highway.

    12 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Heart Mountain Interpretive Center

    Under $25

    A museum on the site of a WWII Japanese American incarceration camp between Cody and Powell, Wyoming.

    38 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Outdoor Adventure

    Park County, Wyoming

    Free

    Wyoming's Yellowstone Country: Cody, Powell, Meeteetse, and the valley leading into Yellowstone National Park.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Buffalo Bill Center of the West

    Under $25

    A five museum complex in Cody covering Western art, Plains Indian culture, natural history and firearms.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Old Trail Town

    Under $25

    Outdoor Old West museum in Cody, Wyoming featuring about 30 relocated frontier buildings dating to the 1880s and 1890s.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Historic Cody Mural and Museum

    Free

    A free Cody rotunda museum built around a 36-foot mural depicting early Latter-day Saint pioneer history in the Big Horn Basin.

    39 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums