Length: 38.7 miles / 62.3 km
Time to Allow: One hour to drive or 1.5 hours to experience the Wyoming part of the Byway
Providing visitors access to Yellowstone Park's northeast entrance, the Beartooth Highway makes its way across the rugged Beartooth Mountain Range in Montana and Wyoming. The road is the highest elevation highway in the Northern Rockies and provides dramatic views, unlimited outdoor recreation opportunities, and unparalleled wildlife watching
Overview:
Designated a National Scenic Byway, the Beartooth Highway has been described by former CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt as ‘the most beautiful drive in America'. Reaching heights of nearly 11,000 feet, this 53.7-mile, 3 hour drive offers skytop views of snowcapped peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes and plateaus. Seasonal.
Since its completion in 1936, the Highway has provided millions of visitors a rare opportunity to see the transition from a lush forest ecosystem to alpine tundra in the space of a few miles. The Beartooths are one of the highest elevation and most rugged areas in the lower 48 states, with 20 peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation. Glaciers are found on the north flank of nearly every mountain peak over 11,500 feet in these mountains.
Recreation opportunities are abundant in the area traversed by the Byway. Visitors can cross-country ski in June and July; hike across the broad plateaus; view and photograph wildlife (Rocky Mountain goat, moose, black bear, grizzly bear, marmots, mule deer); take a guided horseback trip; fish for trout in the streams and lakes adjacent to the Byway; and camp in the twelve National Forest campgrounds in the area. Even when the Highway is formally closed to automobiles, snowmobilers may travel the route and enjoy a spectacular winter wonderland.
Known to the Arapaho Indians as "Land of the Earthborn Spirit," the rock formations of Vedauwoo (pronounced vee-da-voo) attract experienced climbers, campers and hikers. read more
Wyoming Highway 14A, known as the Medicine Wheel Passage, rises from the Big Horn Basin to high elevation rangeland. Named for the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, the Medicine Wheel Passage celebrates the rich Native American history and culture of Wyoming. With read more
