Beartooth Highway 4K HDR – Most Breathtaking Drive in America (Montana to Yellowstone)

Beartooth Highway Scenic Drive in 4K HDR #beartoothhighway #scenicdrive #montanatravel

Take a stunning journey on one of America’s most beautiful roads - the Beartooth Highway. Please visit our website to get more information: https://swansondigital.com/

In this video, we travel from Red Lodge, Montana, along U.S. Highway 212, reaching nearly 11,000 feet at Beartooth Pass before descending into Cooke City, just outside Yellowstone National Park.

This 4K HDR scenic drive features breathtaking alpine views, sweeping tundra landscapes, waterfalls, and wildlife - including a moose sighting with calves. Along the way, you’ll hear occasional narration covering the history of the Beartooth Highway, geology of the region, and notable landmarks like Island Lake, Pilot Peak, and the Beartooth Plateau.

Whether you're planning a Montana to Yellowstone road trip or just love scenic drives, this video captures the full experience of the Beartooth Highway - one of the most scenic drives in the USA.

About the Beartooth Highway...

Our story begins in the throes of the Great Depression, during the era of ambitious American infrastructure projects. The Beartooth Highway, affectionately dubbed "The Most Beautiful Drive in America," officially opened on June 14, 1936.

The highway was constructed to connect Red Lodge, Montana, to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, aiming to boost tourism and provide economic relief to local communities.

The highway’s name comes from Beartooth Peak, a jagged formation resembling a bear’s tooth, a landmark that has guided Native American tribes, explorers, and settlers for centuries. The Crow people, who have deep cultural ties to this region, called the mountain "Na Piet Say" (meaning Bear’s Tooth), a name imbued with legends and spiritual significance.

Rocks That Tell a Story: The Geology
The Beartooth Mountains are part of the larger Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, showcasing some of the oldest exposed rock in North America—nearly 3 billion years old. These rocks belong to the Precambrian era, composed primarily of gneiss and granite, remnants of Earth's primordial crust.

As we ascend, you’ll notice dramatic U-shaped valleys and jagged peaks. These are the handiwork of glaciers from the last Ice Age, roughly 20,000 years ago. Picture colossal rivers of ice, up to a mile thick, grinding and sculpting the landscape beneath them.

Geological Highlights Along the Way:
◦ Clay Butte Lookout: An old fire lookout tower offering panoramic views of glacial valleys and ancient rock formations.
◦ Beartooth Plateau: This high-altitude plateau is a unique landscape, resembling Arctic tundra, with permafrost beneath the soil in some areas.
◦ Pilot and Index Peaks: Dramatic volcanic remnants from the Absaroka volcanic field, contrasting with the older metamorphic rocks of the Beartooths.

Fun Fact: Beartooth Pass Summit, the crown jewel of the Beartooth Highway, reaches an astonishing elevation of 10,947 feet, offering panoramic views that stretch across rugged mountain peaks, pristine alpine lakes, and sprawling valleys.

At this altitude, the environment remains part of the alpine tundra ecosystem, where the air is crisp and thin, and harsh winds and long winters shape the landscape. Snowfields often linger year-round, and the temperature can be brisk even in July. The Beartooth Pass Summit also provides breathtaking views of the Beartooth Plateau, one of the largest high-elevation plateaus in North America.

Chapters
00:05 - Beartooth Highway Intro and Info (Narration)
00:30 - Beartooth Highway History (Narration)
12:37 - Scenic Viewpoint 1
21:40 - Scenic Viewpoint 2
24:22 - Scenic Viewpoint 3
25:32 - Beartooth Highway Geology (Narration)
29:28 - Beartooth Plateau Alpine Tundra (Narration)
33:45 - Viewpoint 4
42:19 - Beartooth Pass Summit (Narration)
57:00 - Island Lake
01:03:17 - Beartooth Lake
01:04:23 - Beartooth Falls
01:14:37 - No name falls
01:15:14 - Lily Lake Camping Area (Narration)
01:16:08 - Moose with calves!
01:16:45 - Beautiful Double Rainbow!
01:21:53 - Pilot Peak (Narration)
01:34:31 - Cooke City (Narration)
01:36:44 - Yellowstone NP & Lamar Valley

🔔𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.
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Beartooth Highway 4K HDR – Most Breathtaking Drive in America (Montana to Yellowstone)