4 to 5 hours (approx.)
Daily Tour
4 people
English
Explore the majestic Beartooth Highway with this self-guided tour. Connecting Red Lodge, Montana to Cooke City and Yellowstone's Northeast entrance, this stunning route climbs to nearly 11,000 feet. Marvel at breathtaking vistas from Top of the World and the striking formations of Pilot and Index Peak. Enjoy the serenity of Island Lake. Explore alpine plateaus and lakes. Open from Memorial Day to late September, this memorable journey covers stunning landscapes and mountain passes. Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together! After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route. New, extra validity — now yours for an entire year! Use multiple times over multiple trips! This isn't an entrance ticket. Check opening hours before your visit.
There’s a nice picnic area coming up in a few moments with up-close view of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Our tour begins just outside the Yellowstone Trading Post, located at 207 Main St, Cooke City. To continue the tour, head east on Beartooth Highway.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Coming up in about a minute is a pull-out with a pretty cool sign that says “You’re Standing on the 45th Parallel.” The 45th Parallel is the circle of latitude that marks the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
So let’s talk a little bit about the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, whose Upper Fork parallels much of the Beartooth Highway from Cooke City to its junction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Coming up in a few minutes is a small parking area for Crazy Creek Falls. The parking area is right across the highway from the Crazy Creek Campground but it’s easy to miss, so I’m going to point this one out when we get closer.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
As we’re soon to see, the Beartooth Highway crosses some of the wildest and most scenic landscapes in all of America. Due to high snowfall and wild winds, it’s impossible for road crews to keep the roads safely open in winter, so it’s only typically open each year from the Friday before Memorial Day through early October, we can expect to see some new snow lingering in the higher elevations until early to mid July, and snowstorms can happen at any time. I’ve even seen them in the middle of summer.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
It’s definitely worth a stop for the views of Twin Lakes from here and if it’s early in the summer, we can watch some diehard skiers dropping into the basin.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
The Beartooth Highway crosses some of the wildest and most scenic landscapes in all of America. Due to high snowfall and wild winds, it’s impossible for road crews to keep the roads safely open in winter, so it’s only typically open each year from the Friday before Memorial Day through early October, we can expect to see some new snow lingering in the higher elevations until early to mid July, and snowstorms can happen at any time.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
I highly recommend making the three-mile drive to the lookout tower if we have the time available. The road is unpaved and a lot of turns in places so it’s not suitable for RVs or trailers but it should be easily navigable for most passenger cars.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
we start really getting into our climb up to Beartooth Pass and many of our grandest views are still ahead of us.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
It’s definitely worth a stop for the views of Twin Lakes from here and if it’s early in the summer, we can watch some diehard skiers dropping into the basin.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
There’s a really nice waterfall not too far from the road but it isn’t marked so it’s super easy to miss. I’ll be sure to point it out as soon as we get closer.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Like many small western mountain towns, Red Lodge was built around mining. James George, also known as Yankee Jim, discovered huge coal deposits while looking for gold in upper Rock Creek back in 1866.
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
It’s now all downhill to Red Lodge and sadly, our best views are behind us. What are we? Are we going to turn around? No, let’s just keep on going. It’s not to say that we don’t still have some lovely canyon views ahead of us. Our route will follow the path of Rock Creek, which begins high in the beartooths and flows more than 55 miles to its confluence with the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, just before it empties into the main Yellowstone River.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
0 review
0 review
0 review
0 review
