Yellowstone/Beartooth
 

In planning our trip to Yellowstone this June, we're trying to follow the advice of many Fodites and drive the Beartooth Hwy. If we were to head out from Mammoth towards Red Lodge and then down to Cody, should we plan to stay overnight in Red Lodge and do the trip in 2 days, or can it all be done in one day ending up in Cody?

We drove from Mammoth to Billings this August via the Beartooth Hwy. It was a fantastic drive-you really will not regret it. We saw the turn off to Cody and actually stayed in Cody for 3 nights earlier in our trip. The drive could be a day trip if you leave in the morning. Maybe plan on lunch in Red Lodge since they have a quaint downtown area with several restaurants. We're already looking forward to another trip to Yellowstone, it was the best!

Red lodge is nice,but I would stay in Cody.My family and I enjoyed Cody as much as Yellowstone,There is a lot to do there.you should have time to drive
and be in Cody well before Dark.you will enjoy the drive no mater how you do it.

I did this is one day: We left West Yellowstone in the morning and drove out the Northeast Gate to the downhill side of the top of the Beartooth Pass.
Then we retraced our steps downhill and followed the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody. From Cody, after a shopping stop, we drove back to Yellowstone via the East Gate and continued on to our room at Old Faithful.
It was a longer than normal day, but not bad at all. The shopping stop and rain slowed us down.

As we were descending to Lake Yellowstone, two huge bison were using the highway. We had no effective way to get by them because each one was using a lane.

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If you have the time, stay overnight in Red Lodge. Mammoth to Red Lodge is a trip that's short in actual miles but you'll be amazed at how long it takes to drive, especially if you take the time to stop along the way. Our family can blow an entire day stopping to climb the fire tower (can't remember where it is but it's marked on the hwy.), wade in the ice-cold creeks, take pictures of waterfalls, watch the mountain goats at play and throw a snowball or two (in the summer). Red Lodge itself is fun fun fun at night. Eat outside at Bridge Creek on main street then wander through the shops and take a ride on the horse-drawn wagon. Cody's a nice town and there's plenty to do but it's basically just a rodeo town on the flatlands (coming from western Nebraska that's no treat for me--I'll take the mountains anytime). What would be perfect is if you could stay one night in Red Lodge and one night in Cody--best of both worlds!

Thanks for all the advice. Can anyone recommend a place to stay in Cody or Red Lodge? Not sure yet where we will stay, but would appreciate if anyone knows of a nice, clean, reasonable place for adults - no kids on this trip.

http://www.cjswalkerswyoming.com/PawneeHotel/index.html
try this link to the pawnee in Cody
We stayed 2 nites here and one at the Irma
The Irma was overated and smokey as it
has a bar downstairs,it was also pricey
We got 2 rooms at the pawnee for less money and the rooms had windows

there are also several chain motels in town

The Bgst Western Lupine in Red Lodge would be my pick of an average group of hotels.

The Chateau Rouge is more of a suite facility with a kitchen. I do not know if it rents for 1 night. It also has condo units with 2 bed rooms.

The Yodeler is a motel I stayed in last year. I am not sure I would go back. It was comfortable enough but our room was downstairs and had no air conditioner. If the weather is cool, it is fine. In early to mid June, I think it would be ok.

We ate at the Pollard. It is a place that tries to be something it isn't: a real fancy, upscale place. I did not like the way the food was seasoned and prepared.
Perhaps I don't like fancy stuff that somehow does not quite make it. Others say it is great.

If you like mountain hiking, Red Lodge can be a base for some wilderness walks in the Beartooth Wilderness area, which is rocky and wild.

I'd go with the Pollard Hotel. We're lucky enough to have a relative with a summer house in Red Lodge so haven't stayed in many hotels but the Pollard has always fascinated me plus it's right on Main Street. Maybe Bob caught the Pollard on a bad night because we love their food and service (both lunch and dinner). Another excellent lodging option is the Rock Creek Mine a few miles south of town (on the Bearcreek Hwy.). Our family has stayed there in the past and it's wonderful--right along Rock Creek. My only experience with Cody motels was staying at a Best Western there in 1993 when my daughter was a year old. We let her run around the hotel room in her little footie pajamas and the bottoms of her feet were black with dirt within a few minutes--AGH! Now my family calls me the Slipper Queen in hotels--don't leave home without them! Let me know if you have any other questions about Red Lodge.

We spent one night in Red Lodge and one night in Cody. In Red Lodge we checked out the shops and took a stagecoach ride with cowboys as drivers. Don't remember the hotel, but it had a pool and hot tub for when the shops closed.

In Cody we stayed at Parsons Pillow a BB in an old church. We had a tin bathtub located in the old belfrey. Not fancy, but fun with a great host couple.