Beartooth Highway, MT · WY
A creekside climb reaches the grassy edge of Yellowstone.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Beartooth Highway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Beartooth Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Beartooth Highway audio tourRecorded for this area
Cooke City: Museum and Historic Store“You're approaching Cooke City, a useful stop for supplies and a little mining-town history. I'd allow half an hour for the small museum, where touchscreens and artifacts cover local life, mining and the highway.”
Plays on the road 1.1 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Beartooth Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Republic Creek Trail is an out-and-back from the signed upper trailhead to Republic Pass, where a grassy saddle meets the Yellowstone boundary. The full walk is about 8.4 miles round trip, with roughly 1,900 feet of climbing; allow about six to seven hours. The first miles are a steady valley walk, but the last climb is steep and high, so this is a demanding day hike rather than a quick roadside stop. Republic Peak and the route continuing into Yellowstone are separate extensions; turn around at the pass for this hike.
For nearly three miles the trail rises fairly gently through forest and small meadows, often near the creek. Openings give occasional views south up the valley toward Republic Pass and the ridgeline. The path crosses the creek near mile 2.6, then leaves the easier rhythm of the valley for the main climb.
The final roughly 1.7 miles gain about 1,450 feet. The slope opens after a rougher forest stretch, and above treeline the grassy tread can become faint. Keep the pass as the destination and be ready to turn back if you lose the route; the peak and ridgeline scrambles are not needed to reach the saddle. At nearly 10,000 feet, the altitude adds to the effort.
Republic Pass is a broad grassy saddle between Republic Peak and a rugged ridge, with views back toward the Beartooths and across the Yellowstone boundary. A boundary sign marks the pass. If you want a photograph, include the sign off to one side with the open meadow and ridges behind it. Dogs may go on the forest-side trail, but Yellowstone does not allow pets on its backcountry trails, so turn back at the boundary with a pet.
The upper trailhead is reached by Republic Creek Road and has very limited parking; the road has been described as steep and rough near a private cabin. Current vehicle access was not confirmed, so verify it with the Forest Service before driving up and respect the nearby private property. A lower winter parking area near Cooke City adds about 3.2 miles of road walking round trip. A photograph from around 1890 records the view west from Republic Pass toward Amphitheater Mountain.
Wildlife
42 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
22 sightingsGray WolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
49 sightingsBisonMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
122 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
260 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
16 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Beartooth Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateWoody Falls Trail2.7 mi · 1.8 hr · 1 mi awayThree tiers of waterfall reward the short uphill walk.
EasySoda Butte Creek Trail2.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayA short historic-route walk on gravel east of Cooke City.
ModerateSheep Creek Basin Trail #5765.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA high-country climb to a basin above 9,000 feet.
EasyBridal Falls Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 2 mi awayA 40-foot cascade drops through a narrow granite cleft.
ModerateBlack Warrior Trail #5781.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.3 mi awayA rough-track climb from Miller Creek Road to near Daisy Pass.
EasyBannock Trail2.9 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA mellow road walk linking Silver Gate and Cooke City.
EasyLady of the Lake Trail #314 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.1 mi awayA creek bridge and old cabin lead to an alpine lake.
ChallengingLower Aero Lake Trail11.3 mi · 7.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA long climb to an island-studded lake beneath sharp alpine peaks
Store · 1.1 mi awayCooke City StoreA working mercantile still uses its hand-crank cash register.
Visitor center · 1.1 mi awayCooke City Visitor Center and MuseumNine touchscreens bring Cooke City's local history to life.
Campground · 1.6 mi awaySoda Butte CampgroundA quiet, wooded base near Cooke City and Yellowstone’s northeast entrance.
Campground · 2.5 mi awayColter CampgroundA hard-sided-only campground two miles east of Cooke City.
Picnic area · 3.2 mi awayClarks Fork Picnic AreaA riverside pause with a little highway and flume history.
Campground · 5.2 mi awayFox Creek CampgroundSleep under conifers with Pilot and Index Peaks in view.
Sight · 8.8 mi awayCrazy Creek FallsA short walk reaches a broad cascade beside the Beartooth Highway.
Campground · 8.8 mi awayCrazy Creek CampgroundA 16-site campground on a bluff above its namesake creek.Parkwolf’s Beartooth Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
