Classic Roads: US 212 & Beartooth Hwy

If you’d like to ride through America the Beautiful, you can’t do much better than the Beartooth Highway. But don’t take just my word for it—this roughly 70-mile stretch of US 212 has been called “the most beautiful road in America” by both Charles Kuralt and our editor-in-chief Florian Neuhauser.

The Beartooth Highway, designated an All-American Road, covers the aforementioned distance between Red Lodge, MT, and the northeastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Our route, however, starts a bit farther away, in Laurel, MT.  Riding this additional section of US 212 lets you ease into the foothills of Custer Gallatin National Forest before tackling the 10,947-foot Beartooth Pass.

US 212 is paved throughout its entire length, so you don’t necessarily need an ADV bike or a dual sport. Some of the paths leading to hiking trails and points of interest are gravel or dirt, though.