Montesir’s Travel Blog

Helena, Montana to Cody, Wyoming via the Beartooth Pass

Day 4 starts in Helena and I was super excited to get going towards the Beartooth Pass, I had heard so much about. I left Helena early and drove towards the Helena Lewis Clarke National Forest a mountainous and forested area around Helena. Highly recommended to visit the place if you are in the area especially Flesher Pass. Moving ahead, the ride along the I-90 towards Red Lodge, Montana is long and boring but once you get off the interstate and go towards Red Lodge its quite beautiful.

Picture: Route map from Helena to Beartooth Pass.

Red Lodge is a touristy town which is busy and expensive. I recall wanting to purchase a magnet and it was priced for over $10. Crazy opportunistic price gouging. If your patient enough you can purchase magnets and other merch cheaper in Cody.

Picture: Scenic views and climb you ride up the Beartooth Scenic Byway.

Once you leave Red Lodge and head towards the Beartooth Pass, the road starts climbing and you see stunning views all around. The road is in great condition and wasn’t too busy. There were a few road works but generally the road was perfect (this in early September 2024). The skies were hazy at lower altitudes due to forest fires in Idaho but there were blue skies at higher altitudes but then wind was a problem. Anyway as you climb the scenery just keep getting better. The road twist and turns and keeps climbing non-stop till you summit the pass at 10,947 feet. The ride was perfect and the best ride I’ve ever ridden. The Beartooth Pass is in Wyoming while most of the ascent is in Montana.

Picture: Descending the Beartooth Pass and looking west towards Yellowstone.

I descended the Beartooth Pass and headed towards the Chief Joseph scenic by-way which is a road that branches off from the Beartooth Scenic byway towards Cody, WY. To get to Cody you have to ascend the Dead Indian Pass another beautiful pass with scenic views. I took several drone shots on the way up both passes.

Picture: Beartooth Pass to Cody, Wyoming

Cody, Wyoming is another busy touristic town but I managed to avoid the crowds by staying a little outside the City on the road to Yellowstone National Park. Got a good nights sleep after an epic ride and looked forward to an exciting day in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

Check out my video on YouTube as I capture the journey up the Beartooth Pass.