Top of the World Store - Beartooth Highway
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Top of the World Store - Beartooth Highway
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Beartooth Highway was initially constructed as a National Park Approach Road, which meant it was intended to remain largely undeveloped. Perched at 9,396 feet, the Top of the World Store stands alone on this stretch of road and feels like a sanctuary amidst the wilderness. Thirty-eight miles from Red Lodge and twenty-five miles from Cooke City, it’s the sole destination for gasoline, snacks, and souvenirs along the route. Initially established at Beartooth Lake in 1934, before the highway existed, the store was relocated to its current location in 1964. Next to the store is a quaint four-room motel. It is open year-round and, in winter, only accessible by snowmobile.
Celebrated as one of America’s most unique and picturesque scenic drives, the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byways All-American Road, is a route like no other. Winding through the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains, it offers stunning vistas of high alpine plateaus, glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls, and abundant wildlife. The Beartooth Highway winds through areas encircled by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests, running adjacent to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and bordering Yellowstone National Park. This region, encompassing over a million acres of wilderness, is among the most elevated and rugged in the continental United States, boasting 20 peaks that soar above 12,000 feet. Glaciers are on the northern slopes of nearly every peak exceeding 11,500 feet.
The Beartooth Highway proudly holds the title of the highest-elevation highway in Wyoming (10,947 feet) and Montana (10,350 feet), as well as in the Northern Rockies. It's a paradise for adventure enthusiasts, offering various recreational activities. Visitors can ski cross-country or downhill even in the summer months of June and July, hike across vast plateaus, observe a diverse range of wildlife such as mountain goats, moose, elk, marmots, mule deer, black bears, grizzly bears, or wolves; embark on guided horseback trips; fish for trout in nearby streams and lakes; or camp at one of the 13 National Forest campgrounds. Even during winter, when the road is closed to automobile travel, snowmobilers revel in traversing this route through a mesmerizing winter landscape.
Copyright 2024 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
September 11th, 2024
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