Route Identity

Beartooth Highway Alpine Scenic Drive

USA — Montana

🚗 car 📏 91.0 km ⛰ 3333.8 m ⚡ hard

Overview Layer

Overview

Drive the legendary Beartooth Highway, a breathtaking alpine route famous for its high elevations, endless switchbacks, rugged peaks, and panoramic mountain scenery near Yellowstone National Park.

Weather

High alpine continental climate with extreme elevation, short summer window, and long snowy winter closure period.

Seasonal Driving Conditions

🌱 spring

Weather

Late snowmelt period with partial closures and unstable high-altitude conditions.

Road Conditions

snow clearing phase
wet and unstable upper sections

☀️ summer

Weather

Fully open alpine highway with stable weather and best driving access.

Road Conditions

fully open highway
stable alpine driving conditions

🍂 autumn

Weather

Cooling temperatures with early snow risk and rapidly changing mountain weather.

Road Conditions

early snowfall risk
cold high elevation winds

❄️ winter

Weather

Closed due to heavy snow accumulation and extreme alpine conditions.

Road Conditions

road closure
deep snow conditions

Road conditions

High mountain highway with steep grades, switchbacks, and exposure above tree line with seasonal closure.

Driving difficulty explained

Very high difficulty due to extreme elevation and rapid weather changes.

Route Snapshot Layer

Route Snapshot

This is a scenic driving route in Montana, USA.

The route features moderate driving conditions.

It is classified as Moderate and is best suited for general road trip travelers.

Points of Interest

Places to eat

Hardwood — 22 m from route (0.6 km from start)
Red Lodge Pizza Co — 13 m from route (1.0 km from start)
Old Piney Dell — 20 m from route (10.3 km from start)

Interesting stops

The Pub at The Pollard — 23 m from route (0.7 km from start)

Cafés and stops

City Brew Coffee — 30 m from route (0.1 km from start)

Interesting stops

Red Lodge Country Historical Marker — 24 m from route (1.8 km from start)
Beartrack Trailhead — 66 m from route (17.1 km from start)
Igneous Dikes of the Beartooth Mountains — 21 m from route (37.5 km from start)

Scenic viewpoints

Rock Creek Vista — 288 m from route (34.0 km from start)

Actual Driving Track (GPX-data)

Download GPX

GPS Data Layer

Measured Driving Route

Distance

91.0 km

Max Elevation

3334 m

Max Gradient

5.7%

Difficulty

hard

This route is analyzed directly from GPX track data. It features a total distance of 91.0 km, with an elevation gain of 2093 m.

Route Structure

Type	Distance (km)	Elevation Gain (m)	Avg Gradient (%)
flat	16.22 km	184 m	0.1%
climb	36.36 km	1705 m	4.1%
descent	38.43 km	205 m	-4%

About this route

The Beartooth Highway Alpine Scenic Drive is one of the most scenic driving experiences in USA. Located in Montana, this route offers a unique combination of landscapes, road conditions and natural highlights.

Stretching over 91.0 km, this drive takes approximately 2 hours.

This route is especially popular among travelers looking for road trips.

Beartooth Highway Alpine Scenic Drive scenic driving route in USA

Travel Experience

The road started out fairly normal, but after a while the elevation gain became obvious. Every few minutes we'd round another corner and realize we were much higher than before. Looking back down the valley, the road almost disappeared into the distance.

There weren't many buildings or signs once we got farther into the mountains. It felt pretty remote compared to a lot of scenic roads where you're never far from a town or visitor center. Up here it was mostly rock, sky and occasional lakes.

At one stop the wind was strong enough that nobody wanted to stay outside for very long. A few people got out, took photos and headed right back into their cars. Even in summer the temperature felt cooler than expected.

The switchbacks are probably the part most people remember. They look impressive from above, especially when you can see several levels of road stacked below each other. It's one of those drives where passengers spend a lot of time looking out the windows.

By the end of the route I felt like the elevation itself was part of the attraction. The scenery was great, but what stuck with me was how often the landscape felt closer to a high mountain plateau than a typical road trip.

Best time to visit

The best time to explore the Beartooth Highway Alpine Scenic Drive is typically during spring and summer months, when weather conditions are stable and visibility is high. However, autumn offers fewer crowds and more dramatic scenery.