The Beartooth Highway climbs out of a small Montana mining town to the highest paved point in Wyoming and Montana at 10,947 feet, then drops down the far side into Yellowstone’s backcountry and the Old West streets of Cody. Charles Kuralt once called it “the most beautiful roadway in America,” and the route only opens for about four and a half months a year, snowed in from mid-October to Memorial Day weekend. This three-day loop covers it at a relaxed pace — a night in the historic gateway town of Red Lodge, the full drive over the pass with time for every overlook, and a last day in Cody at the museum Buffalo Bill himself founded. Real hotels, a real driving route, and 2026 prices for every stop.
Day 1Billings to Red Lodge
A short, scenic drive south from Billings to Red Lodge, the old coal-mining town that serves as the Beartooth Highway’s northern gateway.
🚗 Self-Drive — Billings Logan Airport to Red Lodge
~1 hr, ~60 miles · self-drive, economy rental from $65 USD/day
A straightforward run south on US-212 through open ranch country, with the Beartooth Mountains rising on the horizon as the road climbs toward town.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car — Billings Logan Airport · www.enterprise.com
🚶 Downtown Red Lodge Historic District
~1.5 hrs, self-guided · free
A walkable Main Street of early-1900s brick storefronts left over from Red Lodge’s coal-mining boom, now filled with outfitters, galleries, and a vintage movie theater.
🛎️ Hotel Check-In — The Pollard Hotel
from $170 USD/night, for 2 people
A restored 1893 brick hotel on Broadway Avenue, the first building in Montana wired for electricity, with a wood-beamed lobby and an on-site restaurant and pool.
The Pollard Hotel · +14064460001 · www.pollardhotel.com
🍽️ Dinner on Your Own — Carbon County Steakhouse
~1.5 hrs · ~$25–45 USD/person
A Red Lodge institution for Montana beef and a full bar, a few steps down Broadway from the hotel — worth a reservation on summer weekends.
Day 2Over the Beartooth Pass to Cody
The drive the whole trip is built around — 68 miles of switchbacks up to 10,947 feet, then down through Cooke City and along the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway into Cody, Wyoming.
🚗 Self-Drive — Beartooth Highway, Red Lodge to Beartooth Pass
~34 miles, ~1.5 hrs with stops · self-drive, open late May–mid Oct
A steady climb on US-212 past alpine lakes and switchbacks cut into bare rock, gaining nearly a vertical mile before leveling out onto a treeless, boulder-strewn plateau above 10,000 feet.
📸 Beartooth Pass Overlook, 10,947 Feet
~30 min, self-guided · free
The highest point on the highway, with snowbanks lingering into July most years and a 360-degree view across the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness — the “Top of the World” store just below the summit sells the T-shirt that proves you made it.
🚗 Self-Drive — Cooke City to Cody via Chief Joseph Scenic Byway
~95 miles, ~2.5 hrs · self-drive, optional Yellowstone NE entrance detour
A descent through the old mining outpost of Cooke City, with an optional short detour into Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley through the park’s northeast entrance ($35 USD/vehicle, 7-day pass) for a chance at bison and wolves, before the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway’s own switchbacks drop into the Shoshone River canyon toward Cody.
🛎️ Hotel Check-In — The Irma Hotel
from $150 USD/night, for 2 people
Buffalo Bill Cody’s own 1902 hotel on Sheridan Avenue, named for his daughter, with a back bar in the saloon that Queen Victoria gave him as a gift — still the center of downtown Cody.
The Irma Hotel · +13075874221 · www.irmahotel.com
Day 3Cody & Departure
A last morning at the museum Buffalo Bill founded himself, then the drive back to Billings for a flight home.
🏛️ Buffalo Bill Center of the West
~3 hrs, self-guided · $25 USD/person
Five museums under one roof — Buffalo Bill’s own firearms, Plains Indian artifacts, natural history, Western art, and a raptor exhibit — covering the frontier history this whole region is built on.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West · +13075874771 · centerofthewest.org
🍽️ Lunch on Your Own — Irma Grill
~1 hr · ~$15–25 USD/person
A last meal at the Irma’s own dining room beneath the cherrywood back bar, before the drive north.
🚗 Self-Drive & Car Return — Cody to Billings Logan Airport
~104 miles, ~2 hrs · self-drive
A fast, flat run north on US-310 and I-90 back to Billings, with enough buffer for the rental return before an afternoon flight.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car — Billings Logan Airport · www.enterprise.com
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