Any high mountain passes through Montana/Idaho on I-90

[Winterwolf227]

Headed to South Dakota from Portland, OR along I-90, curious if there is any high mountain passes like on I-70 through Colorado?

[Winterwolf227]

ewarnerusa wrote:
Fourth of July Pass, Lookout Pass, Homestake Pass, Bozeman Pass. Homestake and Lookout will be the biggest, not too much different than climbing I-70 out of Denver except for only 2 lanes each way. Bozeman Pass will basically be all downhill when heading east.

Thank You all for the information !!

[ewarnerusa]

Fourth of July Pass, Lookout Pass, Homestake Pass, Bozeman Pass. Homestake and Lookout will be the biggest, not too much different than climbing I-70 out of Denver except for only 2 lanes each way. Bozeman Pass will basically be all downhill when heading east.

[john_bet]

We pulled from Missoula to Spokane last summer with our rig and never felt I didn't have enough truck or other concerns. We got to Missoula from Great Falls so did not I-90. But then the Vail pass and the Ike did not bother me either. I am what most would consider a flat lander,but---.

[brooks379]

It is a beautiful route but it sure is hilly !! You could drop down to I 80 to Nebraska then turn north. We haul apples out of Washington to NYC at certain times of the year and I 90 is just to much work....on the driver and the truck.

[Fleet_Man]

If you've pulled Cabbage Hill on I-84 east of Pendleton, the grades and pulls on I-90 in ID and MT will be a piece of cake. The pass on the ID/MT border is the toughest but your Dodge should handle it with ease.

[Tom_Barb]

Tom/Barb wrote:

old guy wrote:
remember you are crossing the Rockies, so yes there are some high passes

They aren't that high. I-90 is the lowest route you can take. Homestake Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of Montana in the United States. It sits on the Continental Divide on the border between Jefferson County and Silver Bow County, six miles south-southeast of Butte in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest at an elevation of 6,329 feet (1,929 m).

Remember to take the short cut from Spearfish S.D. to Billings, it save a half day driving.

[Tom_Barb]

delete

[agesilaus]

You can get lots of info on just about any US highway by typing the highway designation and the state in google. Using I-90 Idaho finds a Wiki page:

Wiki


And a Idaho highway dept page:

ITD

Along with many other hits

[obgraham]

Also heard there is a long stretch with no services, is that the case?

That's a question of what constitutes a "long" stretch, and how much services you need.

It's an interstate highway, so there are services at very frequent intervals. But it's certainly not urban. A quick perusal of your Rand McNally or Googlymaps will show you.

[enblethen]

The two main ones are about five miles long each.
After getting to the top of the one in Butte area, the down grade is nearly as bad. Watch your brakes and use compression brake if equipped.

[Winterwolf227]

old guy wrote:
remember you are crossing the Rockies, so yes there are some high passes

i figured that but the question was if they were the long hauls like on I-70 thru Colorado over Vail, Loveland and Berthod Passes

[old_guy]

remember you are crossing the Rockies, so yes there are some high passes

[Winterwolf227]

paulj wrote:
There are a couple of summits in Idaho, including the one on the ID/MT border, and couple in Montana. The intersection of I90 and I15 is at Butte, a relatively high mining town. But none are as high as the 2 on I70. Of course to get a realistic picture you need to know the total length of climb and grade for each, not just the absolute altitude (compare Portland to Government camp v Denver to Eisenhower tunnel).

Yeah, not wanting to do Vail Pass or Loveland or Berthod pass again. Once is enough.... but we do Government Camp 1-2 times a year...

Also heard there is a long stretch with no services, is that the case?

[paulj]

There are a couple of summits in Idaho, including the one on the ID/MT border, and couple in Montana. The intersection of I90 and I15 is at Butte, a relatively high mining town. But none are as high as the 2 on I70. Of course to get a realistic picture you need to know the total length of climb and grade for each, not just the absolute altitude (compare Portland to Government camp v Denver to Eisenhower tunnel).