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| | Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge, MT | | | |
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Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge, MT
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| Scenic Drive | 68.00 Miles |
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| | Scenic Drive | 68.00 Miles | 5 Hrs | | 13.60 mph |
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| no partners | | Snowball (34 foot 1986 RV), Wayne and me. This scenic highway caught my attention when I was doing some sort of research. I thot one of my summer trips to MT I could run over and ride the highway except it was on the opposite side of the state as Glacier Park. Well things fell into place such that I could meet my brother and Snowball in Montana and we could try to get this 34 foot RV up one of the most steep and scenic highways in the USA.
Sep 4 So after meeting with my dad (thank goodness I did that since he passed away in Dec) and taking him out to his favorite restaurant with other nephews and nieces (my cousins) we headed to Havre, MT for the Fossil Festival on Sep 5. The Fossil Festival is a gathering of all Havre High graduates from the 30s thru the 70s that gather once every 5 years. This was the third one but mine and Wayne's first. It was quite an event! Sep 6 We also visited with several old friends and went to our old house that was for sale. We arrived the same time as the realtor so we got to go thru the house  . The realtor knew me but I didn't remember her.
Sep 7 We drove 330 miles to Red Lodge, MT where we parked on the street next to a grocery store but not before stopping in Billings for lunch and visited with another cousin. This was definitely my year of "cousins"  between my northwest road trip and this one and the one in December. As you get closer to Red Lodge you can see the Beartooth Plateau formed 50 million years ago and smoothed and shaped by a glacier, it is the tallest plateau in the United States.
My brother doesn't like staying in RV parks if he doesn't have to. I, on the other hand, much prefer an RV park but I gave in on this stop which worked out great as we were right downtown. Red Lodge is very small and quaint so we walked around and even shot some pool at one of the local bars. The following morning it was bright and early to tackle the Beartooth Highway after we picked up a part.
Sep 8 It was a bright and chilly morning as we tackled the nice and flat but already scenic entrance to the Beartooth Highway. The Beartooth All-American Road passes through what is known today as the Beartooth Corridor. Surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests, traveling parallel to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and abutting Yellowstone National Park, the Highway sits in a million-plus acre wilderness. It is one of the highest and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks reaching over 12,000 feet in elevation. In the surrounding mountains, glaciers are found on the north flank of nearly every mountain peak over 11,500 feet high. The Road itself is the highest elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), and is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies.
Soon we would begin a steep and twisty climb up the mountains from 5,568 feet elevation. This six-mile long climb has a steady, 6% grade and has several sharp switchbacks  igallery/image_page.php?id=5177 with the first one just below 8,000 feet. Despite this, the road is surprisingly wide, has many turn-off spots which we took advantage of altho the picture taking conditions were not the best.
21 miles total, Elev 9,190: We eventually ended up at Rock Creek Vista Point Overlook. Snowball managed the last six miles pretty well but required 1/2 hour rest. From the Overlook you can see below to Rock Creek Valley and way over to Hell Roaring Plateau. We took the Interpretive Trail for even more views of both Valleys (Rock and Wyoming Creek) way below us. After a snack we continued our way up to the State lines where we spent time in MT and WY at the same time  .
Next was the International Summer Ski/Snowboard Camp – Elev 10,737′. The ski area lies in Wyoming above the Twin Lakes Head wall with slopes of 15 to 50 degrees and is one of North America’s oldest ski training areas, operated by International Ski and Snowboard Camp. It is generally open for skiing by late April and runs into early July with access to 3,000 feet of terrain unless there is insufficient snow. It was ferociously windy but we got out and followed a trail.
We had HAZtraks turned on so we knew we still had some more elevation to gain. At about an elevation of 10,000 feet the road ascends above tree line and starts to cross through the alpine tundra found along the Beartooth Plateau which is over 10 miles long. It's quite the vista at this time as you are almost on top and there are NO trees. The only thing standing are the road sticks they use as guides during snow plowing season. The road is closed for most of the year.
There are several other little roads you can drive on from the main road but not with Snowball. Somewhere in here the road crosses the 45th parallel, the midpoint between the North Pole and equator. Our next stop would be the 10,947 foot West Summit - Beartooth Pass Overlook so we had now gone 7,400 feet in 27 miles. Oh and it was WINDY and cold but we would leave the cozy confines of Snowball and venture out several times.
Next down, since we won't be going up anymore is the Top of the World at 9,400 feet. There is a store here that used to be at Beartooth Lake. We got out once again to very WINDY and cold conditions before heading for Beartooth Lake below this mountain we could see in front of us. The lake below Beartooth Butte was so pristine and you could see the ripples in the land on the other side of Beartooth Lake. It was beautiful here at 8,900 feet  .
Continuing on the scenic highway, there is another pullout you could take if you're not Snowball but we had to bypass that and take the pullout at Pilot and Index Peak Overlook – Elev 8718′. These two peaks located many miles west of the pullout in Wyoming rank in the top ten of the most often photographed scenes along the Beartooth All-American Road. In addition to the Peaks, this location looks down on the beautiful Clark’s Fork River Valley, and the Wild and Scenic Clark’s Fork River that ultimately flows into the Yellowstone River.
and yes, I had a list of all the stops we could make along the way including Clark's Fork Overlook at 8,000 elevation and a short hike to Lake Creek Falls – Elev 7329′. This rumbling falls plummets under the Beartooth All-American Road. There is an awesome bridge here to see as well. Not much parking though but Snowball squeezed in.
I read somewhere that between Red Lodge and Mammoth Hot Springs there were 82 full turns and 19 switchbacks during the 115 miles. Here are all my videos that include movies and pictures. I highly advise if you ever get the chance to drive this road, it is so worth the time... and it does take time to take it all in. I did do a lot of research so that we could savor as much as possible that still included a detour to Tower Falls before heading for Mammoth Hot Springs. An FYI - if you want to stay at the Mammoth Campground it's first come, first serve... needless to say, we ended up at an RV campground in Gardiner, MT 20 minutes away. However, that worked out just fine for us as it was a lovely park with great views. And the Yellowstone In A Day Tour will pick you up there.
Rock Creek Vista Point, Part 1 https://youtu.be/Lg ... t0nI
Rock Creek Vista Point, Part 2 https://youtu.be/Hi ... -Cvs
Vista to the Summit, Part 1 to Twin Lakes https://youtu.be/BJ ... dV4g
Continuing to the Summit, Part 2 https://youtu.be/-B ... -Mx8
Part 5, Summit to Top of the World https://youtu.be/k- ... o4RM
Part 6, Beartooth Lake to Pilot & Index Peaks Overlook https://youtu.be/N0 ... SFKQ
Part 7, Peaks to Cooke City, Lake Creek Falls https://youtu.be/5N ... gZQC
Clark Fork Overlook to Silvergate https://youtu.be/Ts ... i-uE
Hikes around Red Lodge and along the Beartooth http://redlodgechamber... |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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