Red Lodge Travel Guide

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This is a world class skiing/snowboarding. It is not as expensive as most mountains. You can get two days for adults for $90.

Lodging is in the town proper of Red Lodge and there are links to different places at their web site. The road up there is best done in a 4-wheel drive and if you are not a snow driver - please take the bus! Parking early on is good. There are a couple of good sized lots with people directing the traffic. If you come later you could have a bit of a walk. I have seen cars line the road for better than a mile going up to the lodge.

There are lodges at both the base of the hill and at Midway Chalet.

Rentals are available as well as lessons.

They have packages for beginners. You can get rental, lower lift tickets, and a 90 minute lesson for $47. For two dollars more you can get a trailblazer package with has the upper lifts.

If you just want to do the magic carpet bunny hill, there is no charge for it. It is a good place to learn.

We all ate here as a group. It was buffet style for us at least. But they served us unlimited pizza and bread sticks, and they all tasted like they were fresh out of the oven. I would recommend this place to anyone.

Favorite Dish: They had really good breadsticks.

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This place is a cross between biker/hippie/cowboy bar. The band is on a stage above the back bar. It was hard to get pictures of them, because the flash does not go that far. But the crowd got wild! They were hooting hand hollering, and finally there was dancing on the bar. The first time wasn't so bad - but I had to leave the area when the women started stripping.

It is eclectic in what is on the walls. Everything from old snow skis to a surf board to a pig wearing a cowboy hat. Everything is carved into with all kinds of brands and messages.

Dress Code: Dress down!

Here is an update on the construction - looks like they think they have finished but not everyone thinks so. They did not do the best job of it and the locals are having fits about it.

Road construction in Montana goes on all summer and takes for ever to get through. It is not uncommon for road construction to go over a 20 + mile stretch.

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Charles Kuralt called the Beartooth Highway "America's most beautiful highway." Travel this mountainious byway and you will agree. You will zip by conifer forests with crystal clear streams and high elevation zones with alpine tundra (The pass reaches an elevation just under 11,000 feet). You will look down into magnificent valleys and up to wonderous snow covered moutaintops. Waterfalls and glacial lakes and ponds abound and hiking trails stretch from the highway to reveal excellant backcountry vistas. Of course the chance to see wildlife is excellent.
The highway was completed in 1936 and is considered a marvel of road building engineering. It twists and turns from Red Lodge, MT to the Cooke City entrance at Yellowstone Park, dipping into Wyoming for about 40 miles in the middle.
To get there leave Red Lodge heading south on Hwy 212, which shortly renames itself as the Beartooth Highway and enjoy the ride. Check my Red Lodge travelouges for specific highway stopping points.