Beartooth Highway
Switchbacks from Red Lodge up to 10,947 feet at Beartooth Pass, then down to Cooke City and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. The route crosses into Wyoming and back, so Montana and Wyoming crews plow their own sections and the whole thing only counts as open when both are through. The record here is short — the agencies announce each spring rather than publishing a long list.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to MDT's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 10,947 feet — check MDT's status page before you drive.
The record
Crews aim for the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. A late storm has pushed it into the first week of June more than once. Mid-October is the target, and a big storm can end the season earlier than that. The winter closure covers the high stretch over Beartooth Pass between Red Lodge and Cooke City.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| June 1 | 4 of 5 years | 80% |
| June 15 | 5 of 5 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 23 | — | The Wyoming section was set to open May 22, but a winter storm held it back a day. |
| 2025 | May 23 | — | |
| 2024 | June 1 | October 15 | Heavy late-May snow pushed the opening past Memorial Day weekend by more than a week. |
| 2023 | May 26 | — | |
| 2022 | June 9 | — | The highway opened for a single day on May 27 before weather shut it again. Record flooding closed it days after the June 9 opening, and it partly reopened June 28. |
| 2021 | — | October 7 | The Wyoming section closed for the season on October 7, five days ahead of the planned October 12. |
Record drawn from NPS Yellowstone: park roads, opening and closing schedule · NPS Yellowstone: 2026 opening and the storm delay · NPS Yellowstone: 2024 opening · NPS Yellowstone: 2023 opening · NPS Yellowstone: 2022 opening · NPS Yellowstone: 2021 seasonal closure of the Wyoming section · Wyoming Public Media: 2024 winter closure · MDT road and travel information . Last checked August 14, 2026.