cd

Leaving Saturday! Yea! Anyway, we won't have time to drive the Beartooth Hwy and cut down to Cody but can we take that Northeast entrance/exit from the Park and just drive a few miles for the scenery on Beartooth and then turn around and re-enter the Park from the same Northeast entrance? How far of a drive from Roosevelt Lodge would it be?

Syv

We left from Roosevelt Lodge in the morning and drove out NE exit on Beartooth to Red Lodge MO, then cut down to Cody from there & were in Cody by noon I believe. I do not remember the exact mileage, but it is not a long long way from Roosevelt Lodge.

Yes - definitely go 15 miles or so on Beartooth, then turn around & come back!

Enjoy your trip.

sluggo

Late last June, we went out the Northeast exit planning to follow the Beartooth to Red Lodge before going to Cody. (Despite 4 days in Yellowstone, we saw our first moose - 3 in fact- in Cooke City just outside the park.) Snow on the Beartooth obscured the view, so we just turned onto the Chief Joseph Scenic Hwy, which was beautiful, clear and snow-less -- a great way to get to Cody. We were in Cody in time for lunch at the Irma Hotel. Have a wonderful trip.

SB_Travlr

When we were in Montana a few years back, we wanted to drive the Beartooth on our way to Red Lodge and Billings -- but the pass was closed by snow (end of September). Instead, we took the Chief Joseph -- a wonderful, memorable and interesting ride. We loved it, highly recommend the drive.

And in Red Lodge, we stayed at the Pollard Hotel, historic building in town. They were, unexpectedly, having a Brazilian festival of food, wine and music. Travel serendipity, and a great ending for a memorable trip.

drsawyers

It's about 30 miles from Roosevelt to the NE Entrance, and another 60 miles to Rock Creek Canyon Overlook on the Beartooth Highway. Then another 10 miles or so to Red Lodge. I'd estimate 4 hours plus stops. It's worth getting up early to be on the road by sunrise if that means you can make it to the overlook.

In my opinion, the scenery gets better and better as you drive from the park towards Red Lodge, culminating with the views overlooking Rock Creek Canyon and the Hellroaring Plateau just before the descent into the Canyon and on to Red Lodge.

If you can't make it all the way, try to get to Clay Butte Fire Tower Overlook(if it's still open - may close if there's much snow.) The views of the Absorokas, Beartooths, and the Beartooth Plateau are absolutely spectacular. The overlook is on a well-maintained gravel road that intersects the highway between the Chief Joseph turnoff and Beartooth Lake.

If you only drive a few miles out of the park, you'll miss most of the truly spectacular scenery. I'd say you'd be better off spending that time in the Lamar Valley looking for wolves.

richbutnot

It's 30 miles from Roosevelt to the NE Entrance. You will pass through the Lamar Valley which is prime viewing area for bears and wolves. You will want to stop several times so figure 60 to 90 minutes to get to the NE entrance.

We left Yellowstone via the Beartooth in June just a week after it opened. The drive is spectacular. The best views on the Beartooth Highway are further than "a few miles" along the highway. You really need to go to Beartooth Pass to get the full affect. I highly recommend making the time to take this drive.

I have not been on the Chief Joseph Highway, but if it is half as good as Beartooth, it must be great.

bob_brown

My experience with the Beartooth Highway is like that described above.
We left from West Yellowstone and drove to Cody. Then we took the Chief Joseph Highway all the way back to the northeast entrance for a tour of the Lamar Valley.
Then we turned around and drove back to the Beartooth highway and continued on to Red Lodge.

I recommend both the Chief Josph and the Beartooth routes highly. The elevation on the Beartooth pass reaches a highpoint of just under 11,000 feet.
That can make you a little lightheaded, so I suggest stopping as you go up to let the body adjust.

The views from the firetower are fascinating. When we were there late in July, a husband and wife were the custodians. They live in a trailer next to the tower. They told me that the fire tower was no longer a working fire tower but a visitor center.

I think the tower gives a good view of the Absorakas and the Beartooth Range.
The two are of such different origins that the contrast is fascinating.
The Beartooths are granite and other igneous rocks that are quite hard and resistent to erosion. The Absorakas are volcanic in origin, but they are made up of tuffs and breccias which should erode quickly, yet they maintain a high if rounded profile. The geologists speculate that the Absorakas are still being pushed up by the hot spot plume of magma that caused the 3 Yellowstone Calderas to explode. The most recent explosion was about 600,000 years ago. The explosion was of such magnitude that Mount St. Helens and Krakatoa are infants by comparison.

The pressure of the magma chamber under the area has made a measurable impact on the area around Le Hardy Rapids on the Yellowstone River. That area has risen 30 inches with the last 60 years by actual measurement.

At any rate the geology of the area is complex and still very active. I think you will enjoy as much of the Chief Joseph and the Beartooth highways as you have time to cover.

cd

Wow! What great information. Thank you! I will be printing this out and taking it with me.

drsawyers

Here's a panorama from one of the overlooks on the Beartooth Highway. This is not far from Clay Butte Lookout Tower:

http://pages.prodigy.net/drsawyers/506_SDWYMT_03.jpg

The Beartooth Mountains are the snow-capped mountains to the right. Just left of that are two very distinct peaks, one of which is pyramid-shaped - Pilot and Index Peaks. To the left of P&I are the Absoroka Mountains. The Chief Joseph Highway can be seen across the valley in the middle-left of the photo. Beartooth Lake and Beartooth Pass are behind the camera.

If your browser automatically resizes images, you'll need to expand this one in order to make it viewable.

cd

drsawyers
It's just beautiful.