North of Yellowstone

[TheCampingFamily]

Hi! Looking for recommendations of things to do/places to see north/east of Yellowstone. We have three days open to plan something after we leave Yellowstone and before we are planning on getting to Makoshika State Park/Theodore Rosevelt on the eastern side of Montana. We live in Michigan and are driving out (going to see Badlands/Blackhills and Grand Tetons area on the way in) in our 32ft motor home with Jeep attached. Thank you!

 

[rvlifer]

Beartooth highway and pass. Red Lodge is a pretty nice town to visit for a day or 2

 

[Jackiemac]

The museum in Cody is very popular and probably 2 days to see a lot of it. It's the flattest route via Fishing Bridge. If you go via the Chief Joseph Highway it's prettier but more climbing. Your set up might be too much for the Beartooth although it's worth doing in the jeep.

Bighorn Canyon is lovely as are the mountains which have a lot of moose along 14 between Greybull, Shell Canyon and the Burgess Junction. Probably out of your way, but it's a beautiful drive. Couple of steep sections but not too bad.

If going from Tetons end, Dubois has a great Military Vehicle museum and again you can take 2 days to go around it. That route will take you through Thermopolis a hot springs town and then Cody.

If you end up at Red Lodge over a weekend the nearby town of Bear Creek has pig racing which is fun. It's not overly cheap to eat there but the food is good. You need to book a table.

Hopefully other have suggestions for the area east of Red Lodge but when we drove out that way it was pretty quiet.

 

[dave541]

Thumbs up to Beartooth Pass. One of the most scenic drives in the country. Same for Chief Joseph Highway from Cooke City to Cody. Not RV friendly, though.
The museum in Cody is world class.
If you head east from there, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is real interesting. You can recreate the fatal last movements of Custer and his men. Reading about it in books is not the same as walking the ground and seeing the terrain in person.

 

[Jackiemac]

We've taken the trailer over the Chief Joseph and didn't think it was too bad.

 

[UTTransplant]

While I wouldn’t take a big RV on the Beartooth (because other drivers can be amazingly stupid, not because it is impossible), I have taken the Chief Joseph Highway a number of times in both the motorhome and the 30’ trailer we had before it. Stunning scenery.

 

[rvlifer]

I would avoid taking any rv over the beartooth pass. It could be done with a smaller rv i suppose but the switchbacks are severe and the road tends to close unexpectedly due to weather and construction. Not a lot of places to turn around with an rv

 

[Jackiemac]

There's a sign saying vehicles over 40ft not recommended on the US212 East (Beartooth Highway).

 

[rvlifer]

 

[Jackiemac]

It will be closed now because of snow.

 

[tanglemoose]

What time of the summer are you planning for this trip? NE corner is beautiful... but don't recommend driving over pass. I pulled our 17' tt once but always go over Chief Joseph now with our 30'... and what do you like to do..