Leaving Yellowstone - Avoiding Beartooth Highway

harold1946 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Beartooth is the the arguably the best, most beautiful drive in the US. Why avoid it?

I see no reason that the OP has to justify where he wants to and doesn't want to drive. I came in from the North off of I-90 and left to the South past tetons.
bumpy

Guess I should have said try it, you will love it.
The queation was not addressed to you, and Kbonila answered quite well himself. :B

my response was addressed to you. jim shoe stated it well".Don't get bullied into trying something that makes you uncomfortable.

bumpy

I did not bully anyone. I simply asked "why avoid it?" And got his answer.
Been hitting the sauce again bumpy? :@

in the title to the thread the OP said he wanted to avoid a stretch of road. why he wanted to avoid it was none of our business. your post sounds like the typical pseudo he-man types here that seem to brag that they take a more perilous route. quite frankly when I am on one of that type of road, I am paying too much attention to my driving than to enjoy the scenery. overdose on your testosterone pills?
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Beartooth is the the arguably the best, most beautiful drive in the US. Why avoid it?

I see no reason that the OP has to justify where he wants to and doesn't want to drive. I came in from the North off of I-90 and left to the South past tetons.
bumpy

Guess I should have said try it, you will love it.
The queation was not addressed to you, and Kbonila answered quite well himself. :B

my response was addressed to you. jim shoe stated it well".Don't get bullied into trying something that makes you uncomfortable.

bumpy

I did not bully anyone. I simply asked "why avoid it?" And got his answer.
Been hitting the sauce again bumpy? :@

I just drove out the chief Joseph highway. It was as hard a climb and decent as the other options. I have done 14, 14a and 16/20 out of Yellowstone. Bear tooth is a bit more windy but not much harder to drive. I drive mountains all the time though and you just downshift. The chief Joseph will climb to 9200 feet and fall pretty quickly too. Just go slow and downshift and stop every so often to look at the sights. It is hard to look driving.

Do a side trip up Lamar Valley then go out north entrance at Gardiner, MT to Livingston, MT and I-90 to the Black Hills. Gardiner to Laurel, MT is probably longer than over Beartooth to Red Lodge then to Laurel but will be less time. Chief Joseph is no better than Beartooth Pass IMO. Both are through some of the most beautiful country in the world but the roads were built long before modern day trailers, fifth wheels and motorhomes were thought of.

harold1946 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Beartooth is the the arguably the best, most beautiful drive in the US. Why avoid it?

I see no reason that the OP has to justify where he wants to and doesn't want to drive. I came in from the North off of I-90 and left to the South past tetons.
bumpy

Guess I should have said try it, you will love it.
The queation was not addressed to you, and Kbonila answered quite well himself. :B

my response was addressed to you. jim shoe stated it well".Don't get bullied into trying something that makes you uncomfortable.

bumpy

I have a similar trip in the pre planning stages. I plan on coming in from Red Lodge and going into Yellowstone. I`ve been researching the Beartooth and RV`s. it seems there are 2 categories those that won`t do it and others that have/had no issues with it. sounds like it depends on your comfort level! I really don`t want to drive around the Beartooth to get into Yellowstone only to have to drive a couple hours back to drive it. I am very comfortable with the trailer and mountains. I still have time so I`m always watching for threads like these. I also found a few You Tube videos of the Beartooth and it doesn`t llok all that bad!

Why don't you go to Lamar Valley for a day while you're staying in West Yellowstone?

Then leave West Yellowstone through Yellowstone and out the east entrance to Cody. The Cody Museum is awesome!! This route is very scenic and you might even see a grizzly or two. It's grizzly country.

I have used every entrance/exit to Yellowstone.
The most difficult exit would be the one over the Beartooths, I would not recommend it to you if you are not comfortable driving in the mountains.

The next possibility would also involve the NE exit at Cooke City but you would take the Chief Joseph Hwy. After you go over Dead Indian Pass you could head South towards Cody or North to I 90 at Laurel MT. This is defiantly a steep winding mountain rode but a good road and very scenic.

The next possibility would be the North entrance at Gardnier, head North to I 90 at Livingston MT. This route is relatively flat.

The next possibility would be the East entrance to Cody. Not a bad road at all, very scenic.

Any of the choices that take you to Cody will require you to get over or around the Big Horn mountains. Highway 16 is a better choice than Hwy 14 or 14A. Driving to Casper will lengthen the route but be flat.

Any choice that takes you to I 90 will lead you to the Black Hills, longer but not a bad drive.

I live in MN so have done this many times. The most common route for me to take is to use the East entrance to Cody and the 16 to Buffalo WY where you pick up I 90.

Bumpyroad wrote:

harold1946 wrote:
Beartooth is the the arguably the best, most beautiful drive in the US. Why avoid it?

I see no reason that the OP has to justify where he wants to and doesn't want to drive. I came in from the North off of I-90 and left to the South past tetons.
bumpy

Guess I should have said try it, you will love it.
The queation was not addressed to you, and Kbonila answered quite well himself. :B

If you are familiar with mountain driving (not hills like in the eastern US) the drive is beautiful. If you're a flatlander like many from the eastern US, the Beartooth is not the best way to learn. By the time you're going too fast for the next curve, its too late. Don't get bullied into trying something that makes you uncomfortable.