Beartooth Highway

Beartooth Highway
Route information
Length:	68.7 mi (110.6 km)
Major junctions
West end:	US 212 at Wyoming state line
East end:	US 212 / MT 78 in Red Lodge
Highway system
Montana Highway System Interstate U.S. State Secondary
Approaching Beartooth Pass from the East along the Beartooth Highway
Elevation	10,947 ft (3,337 m)
Traversed by	U.S. Route 212
Location	Montana / Wyoming, United States
Range	Beartooth Mountains
Coordinates	44°58.1′N 109°27.9′W / 44.9683°N 109.4650°W / 44.9683; -109.4650

The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road on a section of U.S. Route 212 in Montana between Red Lodge and the Wyoming state line at Beartooth Pass, located 10,947 feet (3,337 m) above sea level near Yellowstone National Park. It has been called "the most beautiful drive in America," by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt. Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open each year only from mid May through mid October, weather conditions permitting.

The Beartooth Highway is the section of U.S. Route 212 between Red Lodge, Montana and Cooke City, Montana. It traces a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks, along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 ft (3,337 m) high Beartooth Pass. The approximate elevation rise is from 5,200 ft (1,600 m) to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) in 12 mi (19 km) in the most daring landscapes.

When driving from the east to the west, the highest parts of the Beartooth Highway level off into a wide plateau near the top of the pass, and then descend to where the Beartooth Highway connects to the Wyoming Highway 296 (Chief Joseph Scenic Byway) near Cooke City, which forms the northeast gateway to Yellowstone National Park. En route, one passes numerous lakes typical of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area which borders the highway along much of its route.