RV Camping, Travel and Reviews at RV Tech Mag
WELCOME!
   Facebook    RSS Feed

Cruzer's RV TechMag is the ultimate source for technical articles, travel destinations, road tests and reviews as well as the latest and greatest RV products and accessories and editorial commentary related to the RV lifestyle. You may choose from the following selections to narrow down your area of interest.

All Articles Reviews Tech Travel Misc


Exploring Yellowstone by RV

Navigating Your RV Safely Inside America's Oldest National Park
Article Date: May, 2011


/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-1.jpg

Additional Photos and Side Trip Information

Finally, I'll include some photos and notes on two side trips that you may want to take in your towed vehicle. These are the Beartooth Highway and the wild mustangs of Bighorn Canyon.

The Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway is one of those drives that should make it to everyone's bucket list. One of those things you have to do at least once before you die.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-46.jpg

Prior to our RV trips we traveled with Suburbans. One September, while staying in the Best Western in Red Lodge we awoke the next morning to find a foot of snow on our Suburban. They had gotten close to two feet of the stuff up in the Beartooths. We wound up heading back up to I-90 and then over to Bozeman and then down through West Yellowstone to get into Yellowstone. While this was an extreme anomaly, weather can be very unpredictable in the mountains and September travelers need to be prepared for most anything.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-53.jpg

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-49.jpg

The Beartooth Highway begins by climbing a series of switchbacks on the Red Lodge side. The image on the left shows a portion of these as they begin their climb through the forested slope in the lower portions of the highway. Eventually you'll reach alpine tundra and you'll look down into glacial carved valley with pothole lakes, as shown on the right.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-47.jpg

As you climb the Beartooth's switchbacks you'll encounter a number of areas where it'll be possible to pull over to enjoy the view and give your RV a rest break.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-54.jpg

Once you climb above tree line you'll be able to look down into frozen lakes.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-7.jpg

The Beartooth Highway doesn't open until right around Memorial Day. They get some serious snow up there over winter and that takes time to remove. This mid June image shows you one of the drifts alongside the road.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-10.jpg

Reaching the West Summit you'll be at close to 11,000' of altitude. From this point you'll be able to look down on neighboring snow capped mountains as you begin your descent into the saddle that crosses the Beartooths.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-50.jpg

There are many small lakes that you'll encounter driving across the top of the Beartooths. Island Lake and Little Bear Lake are popular vistas.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-48.jpg

Little Bear Lake is easily accessed from a turnout on the Beartooth Highway. Shortly after passing Little Bear Lake you'll arrive at Top of the World Store.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-11.jpg

Top of the world Store does have campsites available. They are somewhat rough and there is no electricity available because the owner runs his store via a small generator and has no power to spare. However, there are water and sewer hookups and the water is the best tasting in the world. It can be a great location to base camp from if you want to play around in the Beartooths but in June many of the trails and dirt roads will be snowed in and in September the weather moves in fast at 10,000' so you have only July and August to truly spend any time in an RV and still be safe weather-wise at this altitude.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-51.jpg

Just down from Top of the World Store is Beartooth Lake, which lies at the base of Beartooth Butte. A hiking trail surrounds the lake.

/articlepics/4_yellowstonebyrv_image-52.jpg

Continuing past Beartooth Butte is Sill Falls, where the creek crashes down the side of a mountain into a deep valley below.


Return to Home Page

If you enjoyed this article be sure to recommend RVtechMag.com to your friends, like us on Facebook or Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed.

         Twitter Facebook Subscribe to RSS Feed












Article Sections

Departments

Website Areas

Road Tests and Reviews Home Page About Me
Tech Articles RSS Feeds Site Map
Travel Destinations Announcements Privacy Policy
Misc Articles Contact Us Advertise With Us
Helpful Links  

 
© Copyright 2017 Mark Quasius All Rights Reserved
For more information feel free to Contact Us