Why The Beartooth Highway:
I found a cheap flight into Billings, Montana. After visiting the two Bighorn National Park Service sites, I realized that I was very close to the Beartooth Highway, one of the most beautiful and famous drives in the United States. The 68-mile road goes into Yellowstone National Park. Although I had already visited the park back in 2013, I did not get to see the northern loop.
June 8, 2024: A Big Day
I woke up in Lovell, Wyoming’s municipal campground and got in my car. After an hour of driving, I had reached Red Lodge, Montana the gateway town to the Beartooth Highway. The town seemed nice enough and appeared to have a bunch of good restaurants.
The Beartooth Highway is only open seasonally. It first opened only a week before, but closes on and off depending on the snow conditions. It closed for a few hours yesterday, but today was open!
After filling up on gas, I headed out. The road started up a beautiful canyon full of pine trees. Halfway back, the road began to switchback up the left side. Eventually, we reached the ridge. Here, the spectacular snowy peaks revealed themselves.
From here, I continued up the ridge stopping often to admire the spectacular mountain scenery including frozen lakes. It was here that the road crossed into Wyoming.
As I climbed, the terrain became covered in snow. In some instances, the snow was higher than the cars!
Eventually, I reached Beartooth Pass, the highest point on the road: 10,900 ft. This is the highest paved road in the US outside of Colorado (and Hawaii by a technicality).
The views were stunning. The road was busy with tourists like myself and skiers looking for easy access to the terrain.
On the far side of the pass, the road dropped and the snow disappeared. Eventually, I crossed Beartooth Lake and a gift shop known as Top of the World.
I also saw two magnificent waterfalls.
From here, the road joined up with the Chief Joseph Highway – the winter bypass. I continued through the mountains and crossed back into Montana at the town of Cooke City.
Cooke City is a cute mountain town just outside of the border of Yellowstone with an official population of 77. While it is in Montana, it is only accessible by roads from Wyoming. My guess is that the town was strategically placed here to take advantage of specific Montana laws back in the day.
I ate lunch at a “creative” taco shop. The tacos were $7 each, which is insane but there are not many other cheaper options.
I then continued two miles to the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park. There were two car lanes but for some reason, nobody was in the right lane, so I was able to skip past everybody. The entrance booth is considered historic and has an overhang that is too low for RVs, so the rangers use an extension claw grabber to grab cash/credit cards for payment. I am all for preserving historic structures but not at the expense of function. Also…come one, a historic entrance booth?!?!
The road continued back into Wyoming and into the Lamar Valley. With green meadows, a free-flowing river and bison, the Lamar Valley is so beautiful!
After reaching the so-so Tower Falls, I continued south.
1 hour later, I reached the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which I visited on my last trip. But its so stunning, how could I not go again.
Cutting west across the park, I visited the Norris Geyser Basin, the largest geothermal area in the park. There are two trails, and I took them both. The front trail leads through a large open area full of small geysers and hot pools. The smell of sulphur was strong.
The back trail is longer and goes through more forested terrain but also stops by some incredible geothermal features including the world’s largest geyser.
Finally, I reached the Mammoth Hot Springs, a geothermal area containing massive terraces of travertine. The scenery here is otherworldly.
Mammoth Hot Springs is also the headquarters of the park. The administration buildings are housed in a former US Army fort.
Having driven for 8+ hours and eaten very little, I had a massive headache. Luckily, I was able to fix it by eating a burger, drinking lots and lots of water and taking Advil.
I then headed to my campsite in Mammoth Hot Springs and went to sleep.
June 9, 2024: Well Deserved Relaxation
After waking up, I went on a short hike east of my campsite before heading north on my way back to Billings. Instead of returning along the Beartooth Highway, I left via the North Entrance, which was the original entrance to the park. It was here in Gardiner, Montana where tourists would arrive by rail and transfer to coaches that would take them on their grand multi-day tour of Yellowstone. The entrance is marked by an enormous stone arch known as the Roosevelt Arch. The cornerstone of the arch was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903.
From Gardiner, I drove 30 minutes north to reach the Chico Hot Springs. Chico is a historic resort that opened in 1900 and contains natural hot springs. The springs are accessible via a day pass for $16. Today the springs are developed and are functionally a swimming pool with hot water. The main pool is 96 F and the small pool was 103 F.
After all the hiking and driving, it felt great to relax, stretch and overhear other people’s gossip.
I then headed back to Billings to wrap up the trip.
Final Thoughts:
It does not need saying, but Yellowstone is an incredible place to visit. There is so much to see from geothermal activity to wildlife to hiking to human history. While you can theoretically see all the top sights in the park in a long day, I would recommend spending two in the park: one in the south and one in the north.
While there are many interesting sights near the park, the Beartooth Highway is the top (yes, better than Jackson and Grand Teton National Park). The highway itself takes a half-day but you can combine it with a trip to Cody, Wyoming for a full day (or overnight) adventure.
Leave a Reply