Friday, July 31 // 155 miles

Friday’s ride will start at Yellowstone Polaris at 10am and proceed to Laurel, Silesia, Rockvale, Bridger, Belfry, Bear Creek and finally Red Lodge where we will be having lunch. Red Lodge is located at the base of the Beartooth Mountains. After lunch we will continue on to Roscoe, Absarokee, Columbus, Park City, Laurel and finally back to Billings. This is a nice leisurely ride with mainly sweeping corners and straight roads. The total distance is approximately 155 miles .

View the map

The Beartooth National Scenic Highway runs from Red Lodge, Montana, into Wyoming, and back to Cooke City, which borders the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park.

This scenic byway is considered by many to be "America's most beautiful road," passing from lush forest to alpine tundra with views of plateaus and peaks in all directions. From its origin in Red Lodge, an old mining town, US212 immediately starts ascending up to Beartooth Pass at 10,947 feet, just past the Wyoming border.

Before you reach the pass you can see a pyramid shaped spire called Bear's Tooth, or Na Pet Say in the language of Crow Indians, which is how the mountains got their name. Descending the highway into Wyoming from West Summit Overlook, hundreds of alpine and sub alpine lakes sitting in bowls carved out by glaciers, come into view below.

Saturday, August 1 // Beartooth Pass // 275 miles

Saturday’s ride will start at Yellowstone Polaris at 9:00am and proceed to Laurel, Silesia, Rockvale, Joliet, Roberts, Red Lodge and Cooke City where we will be having lunch. Cooke City is located just a few miles from the north east entrance of Yellowstone Park in the midst of the Beartooth Mountains. We will be riding over the Beartooth Pass and will be just short of 11,000 feet above sea level. After lunch we will head back from Cooke City and turn south and ride through the sunlight basin on Chief Joseph Highway. We will tie back into Belfry, Bridger, Rockvale, Silesia, Laurel and return to Billings. The total distance is approximately 275 miles.

The fee for this ride is $10. All proceeds go to the Montana Hope Project. Participants may preregister using PayPal., or by sending cash, check or money order to:

Jim Kelso
2910 Manhattan Drive
Billings, Montana 59102

Make checks payable to “Yellowstone Valley Victory Riders.”
The PayPal account is Zappin1@bresnan.net. Please put your name in the comments area.

Tee shirt is included in the registration fee for this ride. Leftover shirts will be on sale for $10.