Drives The Rockies
Beartooth Highway
US-212, Red Lodge to Cooke City · Montana and Wyoming
US-212 from Red Lodge, Montana, up a wall of switchbacks to Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet in Wyoming, across a high plateau of alpine lakes, and down to Cooke City at the northeast gate of Yellowstone. It's open only a few months a year, and worth planning a summer around.
- Distance
- 65 mi
- Drive time
- 1 hr 50 min
- Climbing
- 7,500 ft
- Highest point
- ≈ 10,900 ft
Carve is the scenic-drive planner for cars: turn-by-turn on iPhone and Android, with CarPlay and Android Auto, and offline with no signal. No app yet? The link shows the route and where to get Carve.
The drive
Opened in 1936 and now an All-American Road, the Beartooth climbs out of the Rock Creek valley in a tight stack of switchbacks, crosses a plateau of tundra and lakes above the tree line, then drops through forest toward Cooke City and Yellowstone.
Snow lingers up high into early July, and late spring and early fall can bring winter weather at the top. On a clear day in high summer, though, it's one of the great mountain drives anywhere.
Stops along the way
- Rock Creek Vista Point 18.9 miles from Red Lodge: an accessible overlook down the Rock Creek valley, with vault toilets.
- Beartooth Pass The top of the road, at 10,947 feet.
- Beartooth Lake An alpine lake at about 9,000 feet beside the road, with a campground.
- Cooke City The end: a small town just outside Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance.
When to go
The Beartooth is a summer road. It usually opens around Memorial Day weekend and closes in mid-October; in 2026 it opened May 23, and the Montana Department of Transportation will close it for the winter at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, or sooner if snow comes first. July to September is the surest time: before that, snow lingers up high, and storms can close it at short notice even in June. When it's closed, don't follow any app onto it, this one included; the detour is the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296).
Good to know
- Start with a full tank and warm layers: the weather at the top changes fast.
- This is bear country. Carry bear spray if you'll be walking.
- Allow at least two to three hours for the drive itself, more with stops.
- Cooke City sits at Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance; you'll need a park pass to carry on into the park.
More drives
- Going-to-the-Sun Road West Glacier to St. Mary · 51 mi · Sweeping
- Million Dollar Highway US-550, Ouray to Silverton · 24 mi · Twisty
- Tioga Pass Tioga Road and CA-120, Crane Flat to Lee Vining · 59 mi · Sweeping
Free to plan and drive with a signal. Carve Apex downloads the whole route for driving with none.
Sources: NBC Montana: Beartooth closing date, Yellowstone news (NPS), USFS: Beartooth Highway, USFS: Rock Creek Vista Point, Wikipedia: Beartooth Highway. Distance, time, elevation and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-06.