Sylvan Pass & Bear Tooth Hwy

[KarenS144]

I'm planning a trip this summer which takes us east from Yellowstone to Cody. The Mountain Directory West describes eastbound as dropping 1500' in 6 miles and a steady 6-7% descent for about 4.5 miles then the last 1.5 is a 5-6% grade. When I drove it in a van east to west a few years ago, I don't remember it being all that steep but then I wasn't concerned with a heavy vehicle towing another vehicle.

I'm sure others have traveled east out of Yellowstone in a motorhome towing a jeep and we don't have anything to worry about. Right? :@

I guess the gas mileage will be really good that day!

I also need opinions on the next part of our trip. I'm planning for a few nights in or near Cody. Right now, I'm really leaning toward Buffalo Bill State Park as a home base. We'd like to travel the Bear Tooth Hwy and while it would be a VERY long day, considering taking 120 (Belfry Hwy) north from Cody to either 296 (Chief Joseph Hwy) to 212 (Bear Tooth) and take the east part of it back to Red Lodge then across to 72 and south to 120 & back to Cody OR would it be better to go counter clockwise (Red Lodge - Bear Tooth- Chief Joseph)? It looks to be about a 175 mile round trip.

We'd miss the section of Bear Tooth from the north entrance to Yellowstone to the junction with 296.

Assuming my directions made sense, is that doable and which direction would be best?

[AlabamaTraveler]

We drove the Beartooth Pass back in 1997. Thru all of our travels, I can say that this drive is the most beautiful we have ever seen.

[RV_boy]

You might want to read this review. It is a few years old but still very good. http://www.rvcruzer.com/ystoneindex.php

Two years ago we went to Red Lodge so we could go over the Beartooth Hwy but it was closed for one day due to a snow storm. It was the start of the labor day weekend. We went south from Red Lodge to Cody and then up the Chief Joseph Hwy to Cooke City and over to Gardiner. Very pretty drive. Be sure to see the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody. Later we went up the Beartooth Hwy to the "Top of the world store". before returning to Gardiner. The northeast entrance to Yellowstone is where you will see the most animals.

[KarenS144]

Wow! Beautiful. Thanks for posting your pics.

It looks like this route will be a highlight of our trip!

[CloudDriver]

We drove the Beartooth from Red Lodge back in Sept 2007. There are a number of places to pull off for pictures, some paved and some gravel areas. There is a rest stop with bathrooms named Rock Creek Vista Point at about 9,200 feet that is a must stop for the great views. The Vista Point was the only place we had difficulty parking the MH.

Some pics from the climb up from Red Lodge.

Looking down the valley toward Red Lodge.


Looking up the valley away from Red Lodge.


The summit sign - elevation 10,947.


View back toward Red Lodge from the summit.


Telephoto shot of the "Bear's Tooth" that the highway is named for.


We drove the Chief Joseph from Cody in late May 2010. Lots of snow on the mountains.

Views from pull out at Dead Indian Pass.




Switchbacks going down from the pass toward Yellowstone.

[kedanie]

There is a big pullout area a little after you go over the top northbound. It has a trail out to the edge of the mountain/cliff wit a fantastic view. There is also a parking area at the top with 360 deg views. Traffic isn't too bad unless you encounter a large slow moving vehicle or RV. Chances are that you may see some motorcycles that probably will be moving much faster than the autos. Last time I was through there was on my motorcycle on July 14th 2010 an it was cold with some patches of snow still on the ground.

Keith

[KarenS144]

CloudDriver wrote:
After reading your post 3-4 times, I think you are saying that you want to drive the Beartooth in a loop from Cody and back again. If so, the easiest thing would be to take the toad.

LOL!! YES... a loop. Guess that would have made my directions easier to understand if I'd included that detail. I'm glad you were able to figure it out and thanks to everyone that tried. We will do that LOOP in the jeep for sure.

I was thinking it might be preferable to start from Red Lodge and have the sun behind us but I'm sure it's gorgeous either way.

Thanks to all who have replied! I posted this on another forum at the same time and haven't gotten a single reply. Maybe no one there has traveled it?!?

I'd love to hear more about the Beartooth. Are there plenty of places to pull over for photo ops? Is there a lot of traffic?

[trailertraveler]

In my opinion (and I have done it a few times) the loop starting in Cody to the Chief Joseph Highway to US-212(the Beartooth Highway) East over Beartooth Pass to Red Lodge and then MT-308 to MT-72/WY-120 back to Cody is a great day trip. It is about 180 miles, but with a stop in Red Lodge to browse through the town and maybe get a bite to eat, it is in my opinion a very good day.

[CloudDriver]

After reading your post 3-4 times, I think you are saying that you want to drive the Beartooth in a loop from Cody and back again. If so, the easiest thing would be to take the toad. Both the Beartooth and Chief Joseph are beautiful drives. The longest climb (or descent if you are going the other direction) is between Red Lodge at about 5,500 feet and the Beartooth pass at 11,000 feet. From the Beartooth pass down to the junction with route 296 the descent is less that the climb from Red Lodge, but I don't know the elevation at the junction. The Chief Joseph tops out at Dead Indian Pass at about 8,000 feet.

We have driven the Beartooth from Red Lodge to Yellowstone and the Chief Joseph from Cody to Yellowstone in our Class C (not towing) with no difficulty.

[TexasShadow]

Don't take the Beartooth route.
Sylvan Pass is the route for you to take in your MH
Beartooth is wonderful for a day trip in the Jeep.

[ReneeG]

We towed a 23' TT down Sylvan Pass, out of the park, and we were fine. Slow - Mountain Directory says you can go down a mountain a thousand times too slow but only once too fast.

As for your touring route to Bear Tooth - we did it from Cody, but just part way. Year before we were able to do the entire Bear Tooth and loved it. Either way it's going to be along day, which is what we often do in our TV from our base camp.

[Mandalay_Parr]

I drive the Rockies all the time. Just gear down, use the engine brake and you will do just fine.