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US 212 · USA

Beartooth Highway

US 212 from Red Lodge, Montana, climbing on to the Beartooth Plateau and over Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10,947 ft (3,337 m).

StartFinishHairpin
49.4 kmLength
127Pace-note calls
11Hairpins
7Tight corners (1–2)
↑1,750 ↓110Climb and drop, m
≈3,340 mHighest point

Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on this route. Heights come from terrain data and can differ from signposted figures by a few tens of metres.

Where is the Beartooth Highway?

The Beartooth Highway is in the USA, on US 212. Also known as Beartooth Pass. The route on this page: Red Lodge, Montana, up the switchbacks to Beartooth Pass in Wyoming, 49.4 km.

Why the Beartooth Highway is famous

The CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt called it “the most beautiful drive in America”. It opened in 1936 and climbs from about 5,200 ft to almost 11,000 ft.

Beartooth Highway hairpins

Over 49.4 km Turini calls 11 hairpins and 110 corners graded 1 to 6, plus 1 crest and 2 dips. That is 127 calls in all, one every 389 metres on average. Grade 1 is the tightest, 6 is nearly straight (how to read pace notes).

HP11
10
27
329
423
524
627

Beartooth Highway elevation profile

From 1,698 m at the start to 3,338 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 3,340 m. Red marks are the hairpins.

3,400 m1,600 m
0 km24.7 km49.4 km

Beartooth Highway pace notes, first few km

The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.

645 mRight 3
1.20 kmRight 6
3.65 kmBridge
6.65 kmRight 6
11.64 kmDip
13.24 kmRight 6
13.37 kmRight 6
13.70 kmLeft 6
16.02 kmBridge
17.44 kmRight 6
19.31 kmRight 6
19.48 kmLeft 5 long over crest
19.80 kmRight 4 long opens
21.73 kmLeft 6
22.00 kmRight 4 long tightens
22.16 kmLeft 4 very long
22.50 kmRight 4 opens
22.82 kmLeft 6
24.26 kmHairpin left
24.41 kmRight 6
24.59 kmLeft 4
24.67 kmRight 3
24.83 kmLeft 3
24.96 kmRight 3
25.78 kmRight 4 long tightens

That takes you to 25.78 km. 102 more calls follow over the remaining 23.6 km.

Before you drive the Beartooth Highway

Usually open from Memorial Day weekend to mid-October, weather permitting; it can close as early as September.

Snow is possible at the top even in summer, and there are few services between Red Lodge and Cooke City. The full road to Cooke City is 69 miles; allow at least two hours.

How to drive the Beartooth Highway with Turini

Set the route before you leave and Turini saves its notes on the phone, so it works with the screen off and no signal. On the road it reads each call about 4.5 seconds before the corner, timed to your speed, and you never touch the phone. It also works through Android Auto. If pace notes are new to you, start in Simple mode (Easy, Medium, Hard) and switch to the 1–6 scale once it feels natural.

Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.

More roads like the Beartooth Highway

Going-to-the-Sun RoadUSA34.2 km · 134 calls · 1 hairpins
Million Dollar HighwayUSA37.8 km · 149 calls · 12 hairpins
Pacific Coast Highway, Big SurUSA37.9 km · 85 calls

Best driving roads in the USA · All famous roads · How to read pace notes

Sources: Wikipedia: Beartooth Highway.

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