Red Lodge, MT to The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge, MT

143.55 Miles | 3:25 Riding Time

It’s Thursday, July 11, 2024, and it’s Day 92 of my cross country motorcycle trip.

It’s another milestone day. Today, I’m riding a loop around the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and the Beartooth Highway that span the border of Montana and Wyoming. These are bucket-list roads for motorcyclists, and they did not disappoint. From Red Lodge, I decided to ride down toward Cody, WY to catch the Chief Joseph up to the Beartooth, and to take the Beartooth back to Red Lodge. This way, I would end my ride with gorgeous views of the Beartooth Pass.

In the early morning hours, the ride down toward Cody (RT-308) was a quiet and great warm-up for the day. It was sweeping turns through foothills as I crossed over into Wyoming. Turning right onto the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, I stopped at the turnout, and got a shot of the information signs there before heading out to the road proper.

The sky was blue and the road was mostly empty. It wasn’t long before I came upon some of the local residents of the byway. The cows were everywhere along the sides of the road, and standing in the road as well. I weaved my way through them, and they seemed mildly intrigued by this guy on a motorcycle on their turf. Around a corner, I was a little surprised to see hundreds of rocks in the road that I had to dodge. There were some more cows at the top of the wall, and they were knocking rocks loose as they walked along. And, I had some spectator-cows along the guardrail watching me navigate the rock slide. It was pretty funny.

At the top of Dead Indian Hill, there’s a scenic overlook with beautiful views of the valley and the switchbacks in the road below. It’s nothing technical, and being able to take in the views while riding in almost complete solitude is something I’ll remember from this day for a long time.

Approaching the Beartooth, I was a little nervous. It climbs up to 10,947 ft, and I’ve heard stories about riding all the switchbacks up to the pass and down the other side. What I wasn’t prepared for was all the lakes, and lush green fields as I climbed. Then, through the switchbacks with some snow still on the ground drew lots of fellow bikers. At the summit, I ran into a group of about 20 riders that had come from North Carolina. We chatted, and I took some pictures at the summit before heading down the switchbacks on the way back down to Red Lodge.

Spent the rest of the day wandering around Red Lodge and checking out the shops. Dinner at Bogart’s and a good night sleep. Tomorrow, it’s over to Yellowstone.

The Route