Cody, WY to Gardiner, MT via Chief Joseph

[iutmd]

I will be travelling to Yellowstone this summer from the East in a 32' Class-C with a toad. I was thinking of driving north on the Chief Joseph Highway to the NE entrance to Yellowstone ending up in Gardiner, MT. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether I could: A)drive the RV pulling the toad, B)detach the toad and drive both separately or C)Take a different route. Thanks

[garry_owen]

iutmd wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback. I may take Jim Shoe's advice and go in the east entrance and check CJJ/Beartooth in the toad since I do not have MH Mountain driving experience. I am sure my wife would prefer that:)

good advice and good call:W

[iutmd]

Thanks for all the feedback. I may take Jim Shoe's advice and go in the east entrance and check CJJ/Beartooth in the toad since I do not have MH Mountain driving experience. I am sure my wife would prefer that:)

[John_M1]

We drove from Cody into the northeast entrance of Yellowstone this past fall, and did take the Chief Joseph highway. It is a beautiful drive and I would recommend taking that route.
We considered the same options as the OP, and decided to unhook and drive the toad separately. In hindsight, I think we could have made it "hooked-up", but at the time we just weren't sure.
We have found in the past, that when towing on a mountain pass I spend too much time "driving" and don't get to see the sights as well. Driving separately works well for us, as my wife is very comfortable with mountain driving.
We stayed in a NF campsite near Cooke City, and took the toad on a day trip over the Beartooth and back.

[NHIrish]

I wouldn't make a wrong turn and head to Red Lodge, but Chief Joseph will be fine.

[Busskipper]

Truely one BEAUTIFUL drive you should have no issue as it is a newly built highway.

The only thing I remember was the view from the turn out Pic of the View

BOL,

[WE-C-USA]

You won't have any problems driving the Chief Joseph Hwy, it's a good wide highway. You may encounter some/more problems once you get into Yellowstone NP, as the road get narrower & more traffic.

[rv2go]

Looks like this going down from Dead Indian Pass

[Ray___June]

We drove that road (in our toad) last fall. Spectacular drive and amazing scenery. There are sections of the road that would be very slow in your rig, but as long as you recognize that and are patient, it is drivable. I've been on worse roads towing with our class "C", and drive Yellowstone over Dunraven Pass every year towing our toad.

Just take it easy, stop in the turnouts and enjoy the scenery.

Once you're in Cooke City, the road to Gardiner is still slow, but fairly easy.

[WyoTraveler]

Towed over Dead Indian with horse trailers hundreds of times. If you haven't driven a large vehicle then coming down the western side of Dead Indian you do need to be aware there are a few switch backs but if you take it slow, let your engine do the work you'll be OK. When you brake come down hard to slow quickly below the desired speed then let your engine do the work. Do not ride your brakes. Beautiful country. The tourists camp in Yellowstone. The locals camp in the NF. If you drive out and dry camp at Sunshine basin you would know why we love WY. Many of those camp sites are hard side only camping. No tents. We go over Dead Indian in the winter to cut out Christmas tree.

[Jim_Shoe]

As a fellow flatlander from southern Ohio, let me suggest that you buy a copy of Mountain Directory West. Don't listen to me or the "Hey, Vern - Watch this" crowd, either. This is your first post on the forum, but no way to know your experience in mountain driving in a MH.
If it were me (and it has been), I'd take US14 West out of Cody into the SE Entrance to Yellowstone. Same mileage (130) miles. And then drive thru the park to Gardiner. Then explore in the toad.

[trailertraveler]

If you have the time, take a day and drive the toad from Cody on the Chief Joseph, turn East and drive the Beartooth Highway over Beartooth Pass to Red Lodge and then South back to Cody on MT-308, MT-72 and WY-120. It makes a nice day trip with time to stop at the overviews, take a short hike and explore Red Lodge. You will also get a chance to see how you want to proceed when leaving Cody for Gardiner.

[CloudDriver]

We drove the Chief Joseph from Cody to Mammoth Hot Springs back in early June 2010. An absolutely beautiful drive. There are some switchbacks going down after Dead Indian Pass, which may be the only portion which you may want to drive the toad separately. No difficulty with our 24 ft Class C using 2nd gear to minimize braking, but we don't tow. Others who have towed over the route would be more qualified to answer your question.

Some pictures of the descent from the pass.