Long Lake - Viewed from the Beartooth Highway, Wyoming, USA

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The Beartooth Highway, otherwise known as US Highway 212 or, sometimes as the Beartooth All American Road, was a depression era 68.7mile (110km) project completed in 1936. The road which begins and ends in Montana also travels through north west Wyoming and through the Custer Gallatin National Forest (Montana), the Beartooth-Absoroka Wilderness and the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming.

US Highway 212 has been described by some writers as America's most scenic road although in my personal experience I'd put 48km Trail Ridge Road (12,183 feet) and Independence Pass (12,095 feet) between Twin Lakes and Aspen in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park as its equal but the Million Dollar Highway, also in Colorado, in autumn, would be my pick for America's most scenic Road.

The terminus towns on either end of US Highway 212 are Red Lodge in the east and Cooke City (not really a city) at the north eastern gateway to Yellowstone National Park.
In between there are no shelters or commercial buildings apart from the Top of the World Store, just before the turnoff to the Chief Joseph Byway which heads south to Cody.

A summer ski area known as 'The Beartooth Basin Ski Area' can be found near the Beartooth Pass and Twin Lakes on the Montana-Wyoming Border (45th Parallel North). It operates seasonally when the road is open from late May through to early July with just two Platter Poma Lifts. It's the only ski area in North America that operates in summer
Quite a few very scenic lookout pull off points exist along the Beartooth Highway. The road is well armour-railed due to the sheer drop offs on some portions along the road as it climbs up the Rock Creek Canyon ridge from Red Lodge.
When you reach the 45th Parallel North you're in Wyoming and near US Highway 212's highest point, Beartooth Pass. Here the road reaches 10,947 feet (3,334m).
The landscape at these high altitudes is a vast open treeless tundra plateau, often heavily snow covered. Even higher mountains to the west reach in excess of 12,000 feet. For some context, Beartooth Pass is about 1,000 feet above the Shoshone National Forest treeline.

We travelled US Highway 212 in the morning, east to west, as is recommended, from Red Lodge to the Top of the World Store before turning off down the equally scenic Chief Joseph Byway to Cody for a few days after which we returned via the Chief Joseph Byway to Cooke City and on into Yellowstone National Park.

The Beartooth Highway, built in just 4 years in the mid 1930's is one of the highest sealed highways in the USA and apart from its scenic beauty it's remembered by travellers for the large number of hairpin bends, or as Americans call them - Switchbacks. It may also be remembered for its danger.
The road surface itself is excellent and the road is wide and very safe to drive in good weather conditions however at these altitudes unpredictable blizzards and heavy snowfall can come on at any time and travellers can get snowed in. Great care must be exercised to check the weather and road conditions before heading across this road.

Due to precarious road conditions, heavy snowfall and unpredictable blizzards the Beartooth Highway is usually closed in Winter, from October till around the last Monday in May (Memorial Day).

All USA Trip 2018 Images HERE

Taken in: United States / Montana / Richel Lodge (show map)

Taken on: April 18, 2021

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Sets appears in: • Best of USA • Montana, Wyoming & Idaho USA more » • Panoramas & Landscapes - ALBUM No.1 « less

Groups appears in: • 3 to 1 HAND HELD PANORAMAS

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