Beartooth Highway Highlights 2014

I had never been out of the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone and through the Beartooth Scenic highway so we did that this summer.  It was spectacular.  Charles Kuralt said it was one of the most scenic drives in the US and I have to agree with the man. 

It took us about 7-8 hours to drive up and back from West Yellowstone to the West Peak on the Beartooth Highway.  I'm a shutterbug so that included several stops along the way.  I'll hit a few major stops and tell you some things to check out if you go.

The first stop was just outside of Cooke City (which is no more than a post office and a few cafes) where there was a seemingly boring stop along the river.  People driving towards Red Lodge will typically just drive on by not seeing anything exciting but I just happened to look in the side mirror back as we passed (no, I wasn't driving) and see the most spectacular view of the Beartooth Peak in all its glory.  In fact, it looks a heck of a lot like the Matterhorn from this view (see below).  I was really glad we stopped as it was a clear morning and the best view of the peak by far. 

Beartooth Mountain

Another stop was at the West Summit area.  Wow, you really are on top of the world at almost 11000' (more so than the official sounding "top of the world" stop which is just a souvenir shop - that's a total ploy if you ask me!). The wildflowers were really out in their glory and the contrast between the colors of flowers, the green tundra, the jagged rock and the glaciers was a sight to behold.  It was rather nippy up on top of the mountain however with a stiff wind so wearing a jacket if you were going to be outside for more than 30 seconds was essential. 

Tundra Flowers

While gazing at the tundra I noticed a white flash dart over a ridge.  Was it so?  I don't know...we drove around the corner and sure enough...there was a mountain goat!  This is the first wild mountain goat I've ever seen so I was super excited about it.  We sat and watched it for several minutes before it decided to take off down a rock embankment out of sight.  It was much better viewing in the binoculars but what a rare and neat sight!  I love national geographic moments (yes, as a kid I loved Wild Kingdom and wanted to be like Marlin Perkins). 

Thank goodness I had a telephoto lens.  I wouldn't want to try to follow him - he climbed like a mountain goat!

One great and easy way to enjoy the flowers and vistas is to drive to the Clay Butte Lookout Tower.  Its a short and easy dirt road through some pretty wildflowers to the fire lookout.  It has some incredible views which is well worth the 20 minute diversion.  It is staffed by knowledgeable folks who can answer most questions you throw at them.  This is high praise from me...I tend to ask a ton of questions that aren't the easy type to answer.

Another stop with a small walk is Crazy Creek.  It is a campground on one side of the road and a trailhead to the Crazy Creek lookout on the other side of the road.  It is a twisty, turning creek that has a broad cascading area to view.  There are two stories about the naming of this creek.  One theory is that the creek twists like crazy.   Another is that an Indian woman lived here who was crazy.  That makes me laugh.  It is a short, but uphill walk to a viewpoint on top of the cascades/falls area. 

Crazy Creek

Obviously I only hit some highlights but this is definitely something to do if you enjoy easily accessing grandeur landscapes. 

Check out some of the additional pictures under the section "New" of the tab "Photo Galleries by Type."