Highlights of Beartooth Highway

The spire known as the Bears Tooth along Beartooth Highway was carved in the shape of a large tooth by glacial ice gnawing inward and downward against a single high part of a rocky crest. Beartooth Butte is a remnant of sedimentary deposits that once covered the entire Beartooth Plateau. The red-stained rock outcrop near the top of Beartooth Butte was a stream channel some 375 million years ago, so fossils are found in abundance in the rocks of Beartooth Butte.

In these treeless areas, near or above timberline, vegetation is often small -- a characteristic that is vital to the survival of the plants at this elevation. Wildflowers, often as tiny as a quarter-inch across, create a carpet of color during the 45-day-or-shorter growing season.

In contrast, the common flowers found below the timberline in wet meadows are Indian paintbrush, monkey flower, senecio, and buttercups, and in drier areas are lupine, beardtongue, arrowleaf balsamroot, and forget-me-nots. Mid-July is generally the optimum time for wildflower viewing.

©Byways.org Distant view of Pilot Peak off Beartooth Highway.

Wildlife varies from the largest American land mammal, the moose, to the smallest land mammal, the shrew. Other animals commonly seen are mule deer, white-tail deer, marmots, elk, and pine squirrels. Birds include the golden eagle, raven, Clark's nutcracker, Steller's jay, robin, mountain bluebird, finch, hawk, and falcon. Watch for water ouzel darting in and out of streams.

The snowbanks often remain until August near Beartooth Pass, and remnants of some drifts may remain all summer. A pink color often appears on the snow later in the summer, which is caused by the decay of a microscopic plant that grows on the surface of the snowbank. When the plant dies, it turns red and colors the snow pink.

Consider using the following itinerary as you travel the Beartooth Scenic Byway.

Red Lodge: Red Lodge is an 1880s coal-mining and ranching town lined with turn-of-the-19th century red brick storefronts and hotels that cater mainly to skiers and visitors to Yellowstone.

Visit the Beartooth Nature Center, at the north end of Red Lodge, which exhibits native wildlife. The road follows Rock Creek into the mountains, winding through grassy hills that soon give way to heavily forested mountains. Rocky outcrops interrupt evergreen forests, and an occasional spire juts over the trees.

About 13 miles from Red Lodge, the road climbs away from the creek, and suddenly the vista opens up toward the 1,800-foot cliffs that bend around the head of the valley in a tight semicircle.

Vista Point Scenic Overlook: After five miles of dramatic switchbacks, stop at the Vista Point Scenic Overlook. Here, at 9,200 feet, a short path leads to the tip of a promontory with phenomenal views across Rock Creek Canyon to the high rolling country of the Beartooth Plateau.

As you continue on U.S. 212, the trees give out entirely, and you begin crossing a landscape of low, rounded hills covered with grasses, sedges, and lavish wildflowers in summer. Soon, the road cuts back to the rim of the canyon, and from the narrow turnouts, you can see a chain of glacial lakes 1,000 feet below. Even in July, enough snow accumulates against the headwall here to draw skiers.

Beartooth Plateau: As you travel farther on the byway from the north on U.S. 212, the Beartooth Plateau looms over the surrounding prairie foothills as a hulking mass of black, rounded mountains.

Absaroka Range: As you pass the ski lift, the Absaroka Range breaks over the western horizon in a row of jagged volcanic peaks. Wildflower meadows lead to the west summit of Beartooth Pass, at an exalted 10,947 feet. From the pass, you descend to a forest of lodge-pole and whitebark pines toward 10,514-foot Beartooth Butte. Soon, you pass Beartooth Lake.

Clay Butte Lookout: In another mile, follow the gravel road to Clay Butte Lookout, a fire tower with a smashing view of some of Montana's highest mountains.

Crazy Creek Campground: Continue 5-1/2 miles to an unmarked bridge over Lake Creek, and take the short path back to a powerful waterfall thundering though a narrow chasm. A completely different sort of cascade fans out over a broad ram of granite in the trees above Crazy Creek Campground, 2-1/2 miles farther.

Pilot and Index Overlook: At the Pilot and Index Overlook, you're looking at the northern edge of the Absaroka Range, an eroded mass of lava, ash, and mudflows that began forming 50 million years ago.

Cooke City: From here, the road follows the Clarks Fork River through what is left of a centuries-old forest, much of which fell victim to the great Yellowstone fires of 1988. Soon, the road passes through the tiny tourist crossroads of Cooke City, begun as a 19th-century mining camp. Four miles beyond, the drive ends at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

For nature lovers, the sights along Beartooth Highway can't be beat -- from lush forests to stunning glaciers.

Find more useful information related to Montana's Beartooth Highway:

• Cooke City: Find out what there is to do in this city along Beartooth Highway.
• Scenic Drives: Are you interested in scenic drives beyond Montana? Here are more than 100 scenic drives throughout the United States.
• How to Drive Economically: Fuel economy is a major concern when you're on a driving trip. Learn how to get better gas mileage.