Beartooth Highway Switchbacks

The Beartooth Highway (US-212) climbs from Red Lodge, Montana to an elevation of 10,947 feet (3,337 m) before descending into Cooke City near Yellowstone's northeast entrance, covering 68 miles of alpine tundra, glacial lakes, and dramatic switchback curves. The most recognized photographic feature is the series of tight hairpin switchbacks visible from above as the road gains the plateau from the Red Lodge side — a layered ribbon of asphalt curving against the canyon walls that compresses beautifully with a telephoto lens. The Rock Creek Vista Point Overlook, approximately 13 miles from Red Lodge, frames the canyon below with the highway visible in the river valley and is considered the single most productive stop on the route. Above the plateau at roughly 9,000 feet, the terrain opens to treeless tundra with snowfields persisting into July and small glacial lakes — Beartooth Lake being the most accessible, with a roadside pullout — that serve as foreground reflectors against surrounding peaks. The highest point on the highway near Beartooth Pass provides 360-degree panoramas across the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and into Wyoming. Sunrise at Rock Creek Vista Point produces alpenglow on the canyon walls and backlit highway curves; mid-day light is unusually productive on the open tundra plateau, where the even diffuse illumination common at altitude moderates the harsh shadows that plague lower-elevation mountain photography. The highway typically opens in late May for the season and closes in mid-October, subject to weather-related closures at any time. Drone use requires a Special Use Permit on USFS land — multiple sections of the highway cross Custer Gallatin National Forest — and no drones are permitted within Yellowstone if the route extends to the park boundary. Numerous roadside pullouts along the highway charge no access fee. Services are available only at Red Lodge (southern end) and Cooke City (northern end); no fuel or services exist on the highway itself.