On this 10 day road trip, visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone, drive Beartooth Highway, and also visit Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Every time we visit this area, it amazes us even more. If you do Beartooth Highway → Chief Joseph Scenic Byway → Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway → east entrance of Yellowstone, this will take one full day.Īs far as what to do in Yellowstone, we have tons of information about Yellowstone National Park on our website. From Cody, it takes an hour to drive to the east entrance but it is another beautiful drive (this is called the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway). Or, if you really like scenic drives, return on Beartooth Highway, turn left onto Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, and take this to Cody.

To return to Yellowstone, you can retrace the route along Beartooth Highway, and then drive through Lamar Valley in the afternoon, a great time to be here.

You can turn around at this point, or go all the way to Red Lodge, stopping in town for lunch. From the northeast entrance, it will take about an hour and a half to drive to the Rock Creek Vista, which is the overlook just before the big switchbacks into Rock Creek Canyon. If you have a few days in Yellowstone and want to add on this scenic drive, you will have to set aside at least half of a day. Just make sure your dates of travel are from June through early October, when this road is typically open. If you have plans to enter or exit Yellowstone through the northeast entrance, or if you plan to stay in Cooke City-Silver Gate, you will be at the start of Beartooth Highway, so adding on this drive is easy. How to Add Beartooth Highway onto Your Visit to Yellowstone It is typically closed from early October through Memorial Day, due to heavy snowfall. This road is maintained by the National Park Service. In the nearby Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, there are 20 peaks over 12,000 feet.īeartooth Highway has been called “the most beautiful drive in America” by On the Road correspondent Charles Kuralt. This road passes through portions of Gallatin, Custer, and Shoshone national forests. The road then descends towards Cooke City-Silver Gate, winding past alpine lakes, campgrounds, and jagged mountain peaks. Starting in Red Lodge, at 5,500 feet, it climbs up to Beartooth Pass, topping out at 10,947 feet.

How to Add Beartooth Highway onto Your Visit to Yellowstoneīeartooth Highway is a section of US Route 212 that connects Red Lodge, Montana with Cooke City-Silver Gate, Montana.

How Long Does It Take to Drive Beartooth Highway?.

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