The epic task of clearing snow off Beartooth Highway in Montana has been underway since late April and it seems to be coming along quite well. Snow clearing is not the only task required to open the road, though, as crews have now begun repairing sections that were damaged from the snow and rock.
Beartooth Highway runs south from Red Lodge, Montana, into the Custer Gallatin National forest before climbing up switchbacks until it reaches the Montana/Wyoming state border. In Wyoming, clearing and repairing the highway is the responsibility of the National Park Service, but it’s the Montana Department of Transportation‘s responsibility before then.
Beartooth Highway is typically closed through the winter, opening around the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend and remaining open until mid-October. Weeks of plow work and maintenance are completed every year before reopening the road. Once it enters Wyoming, the road heads past Beartooth Basin Ski Area before briefly returning to Montana where to connects with Cooke City and enters Yellowstone national Park.
