The route
This is a suggested first route over Beartooth Highway, built from the places already in the Old Route Retro atlas. The highway — a designated All-American Road — climbs from Red Lodge, Montana, over a pass more than 10,000 feet high, and drops toward the Yellowstone country, a drive of roughly seventy miles. Every stop below links to its own place page, where the postcards filed for that location are gathered together.
The Montana route shows the whole state, and holds every design currently filed under it.
Start in Red Lodge
The route begins at Red Lodge, the old mining town at the foot of the range that now opens the highway. Many travelers reach it from the east via Billings, Montana's largest city — and coming that way, the Little Bighorn Battlefield lies a little further south.
Over the pass
From Red Lodge the road climbs through the Custer National Forest, where the Beartooth Highway runs through subalpine country above the treeline. The road crosses briefly into Wyoming at the pass before curving back into Montana on the way down to the Yellowstone side.
Down to the Yellowstone country
The far end of the drive meets the Yellowstone country. The atlas files the park's Montana side under Yellowstone, where the Yellowstone River runs north out of the park — a reminder that the famous geysers lie further south in Wyoming, while this end of the route is the river and the mountain light.
Planning the route
This is a suggested route from the Old Route Retro atlas, not an official itinerary. Beartooth Highway is a seasonal road — it opens for the summer months only, when the snow clears from the pass — and the drive itself fits naturally in a day, with Red Lodge at one end and the Yellowstone country at the other. A day or two at either end makes a relaxed trip.
Every stop in this guide is a real page in the atlas. Open the Montana route to browse every design currently filed under it.
When is Beartooth Highway open?
Beartooth Highway is a seasonal road: it is closed in winter and opens when the snow clears from the pass, usually for the summer months. Check the Montana Department of Transportation's current road status before travelling.
How long does the drive take?
As a route in the atlas it has no fixed length. The highway itself fits naturally in a day, and a relaxed trip gives the road a day and the Yellowstone country another. Each place page stands alone, so you can follow any single stop on its own.
Is Beartooth Highway in Montana or Wyoming?
Both. The highway begins in Montana at Red Lodge, crosses the state line into Wyoming at the pass, and returns to Montana on its way toward the Yellowstone country. In the atlas it lives on the Montana route, alongside the places of the Yellowstone side.