The Incomparable Beartooth Parkway

Those of you who have followed our travels in past years know of our love for the Beartooth Parkway. Of all the roads we have traveled in the US and Canada, the Beartooth Parkway is definitely our favorite. It is designated as one of the eight All American Roads in America.

Half of the parkway is located in South Montana and the other half is in Northwest Wyoming. Starting just outside of Red Lodge, MT, the parkway climbs from about 5,500 feet at Red Lodge to over 10,000 feet at the summit, all this is under 15-20 miles. It ends its descent at the northeastern entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

We have traveled the parkway at least 4 times and have been fortunate to experience many of its many “faces”. On our first attempt at driving the parkway in 2008, it was mid June and the parkway was still closed because of snow. On our next visit in 2011, the road was open, but there was plenty of snow still on the ground. On a number of the cleared passages, the snow on the sides of the road was taller than our camper. The following couple of trips were later in the summer and almost all the snow was gone. While the snow on this trip is now gone from the road and surrounding areas, there is still snow on many of the nearby mountains. With the advent of drones, take a gander at this Facebook video of this year’s snow clearing of a portion of the parkway!

We will provide some links to past trips so you can get a feel of how the parkway changes during the times we have visited it.

The Perfect Campsite

This was our first day ever on the Beartooth (in 2011). We wanted to stay at this campsite but I just couldn’t quite shovel it snow-free! This is the same campground we stayed in this year (2020)…definitely snow-free.

Here is a link that contains this (and other photographs), just in case you are interested.

This, and the previous photograph, is from the same trip in 2011. Just a little bit of snow!

You can can view this posting from 2011 by clicking this link.

Before we proceed on, here are links to three videos from this year’s opening which give you a feeling of what has to be done to clear the Beartooth Parkway each year. This first video shows the snow clearing at the summit. For a little more excitement, check out this video. Be sure to watch it to the end! And if you haven’t seen enough, here is one more!

Now back to this summer’s trip on Beartooth! The following five photographs were taken at the summit.

As you can see, there is still some snow in the area. When we took this photograph, the temperature outside was 44 degrees and the wind was blowing about 30-35 mph. It was really cold! The lake to the left is special to us because on one of our previous trips, Meriam identified what appeared to be an Indian woman’s head created by ice in the lake.
This photograph does not give justice to the beauty of the distant mountains with their patchy snow.
On previous trips, we had never stopped at this particular place. We did not realize there were so many small lakes below.
This photograph was taken from the summit. While not particularly wonderful, it shows the “other side” of Beartooth Mountain. Unseen further out is the town of Cody, WY.
One of the many, many hairpin curves on the Beartooth Parkway.
So the two sticks on either side of this “wildlife” are snow poles. They are used to mark the location of the edges of the highway for the snowplows. They need to protrude above the deepest snow, hence the taller the poles the deeper the anticipated snow. This year we observed more and taller poles.
This beautiful lake is about 100 yards from our campsite about 5 miles from the summit, as we traveled west towards Yellowstone.
We spent a good portion of the day hiking near a location we boondocked in previous years. We thought about boondocking there again, but to our surprise, there were over a dozen cars and vans there this year. Turns out the site provides good access to small streams and lakes that are plentiful with trout.
One of the little streams. We watched a fisherman attempting to snag a trout in the stream.
One of a number of small lakes in the area.
Yet another couple of lakes across the road.
As we were headed down Beartooth, eagle-eyed Meriam spotted these doe elk grazing nearby. She grabbed my camera and began shooting.
Then she spotted the buck. Checkout the rack on him! His harem consisted of at least 15-20 doe.
As one turns off the Beartooth Parkway, headed to Cody, WY, another magnificent drive awaits them. This drive down to Cody is known as The Chief Joseph Parkway. This scene shows some of the switchbacks along the way.
Posted in 2020 - The Mountains Call...Again!
14 comments
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  • Joseph G HuntThank y’all for letting me go on your trip with you ReplyCancel

  • MARSHA DESSOMMES Wow again!! I am looking forward to seeing all this one day. Thank you so much for taking the time to share!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldGreat Mardee, we look forward to reading the blog you and Chuck might post!ReplyCancel

  • SherilynLOVED traveling with the Blairs!  I almost 
    feel as if I’ve had a much-needed vacation!!!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks, Sherilyn. We enjoyed sharing our trip.ReplyCancel

  • KayWonderful photos! Thanks for the trip. ReplyCancel

    • HaroldYou’re welcome, Kay. Wish you guys could have tagged along!ReplyCancel

  • Charles KempMany thanks for the beautiful photos.  We are looking forward to seeing you    Charlie — &glad you had safe trip!!!!!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldCharlie and Margie, Thanks for the compliment. We enjoyed the trip and are pleased to be home.ReplyCancel

  • maoI hate to see our vacation come to an end!  Thanks for the memories.ReplyCancel

    • HaroldWe’re also sorry you didn’t get to complete your vacation (-: However, you have next year to look forward to!ReplyCancel

  • Adam & Susan BurksSo glad y’all had an awesome trip! Great pics & shared videos. 2020 was perfect year for remote outdoor travel. Beartooth & Chief Joseph Parkways are phenomenal. Thanks to your recommendation, we enjoyed both in 2018. ReplyCancel

    • HaroldGreat to hear from you guys. Sorry for the late response to your post. How are things going with you all? Hopefully, when Covid is over we can get together.ReplyCancel