Red Lodge is a city in the Yellowstone Country of Montana. It is conveniently located between the major airport in Billings and the north east entrance to Yellowstone National Park at Cooke City. Located in the shadow of no less than 28 different 12,000-foot peaks. This charming town is nestled in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains and is surrounded by Custer National Forest. The 69-mile Beartooth Scenic Drive has dramatic switchbacks overlooking snow-capped peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes and plateaus and is considered by many to be one of the most scenic roads in the country.
Understand
Historic Red Lodge is a resort and ranching community with a colorful coal mining past and surrounded by natural beauty.
Get in
By car
Highway 212 leads from Cooke City and Yellowstone National Park and connects to I-90 and Billings Montana via 310 at Laurel (Montana).
Portions of Highway 212 only have one lane in each direction, and farmers living in the area may drive on the roadway with their heavy machinery. When that happens, cars will often proceed at a slow speed, resulting in congestion.
By plane
- Billings Logan International Airport (IATA: BIL), is the closest airport located 1901 Terminal Cir, +1 406 247-8609, e-mail: [mailto:airport@ci.billings.mt.us airport@ci.billings.mt.us], . Billings Logan International is the major airport for Eastern Montana, and the busiest airport in the state. Silver Airways uses it as their hub for service within the state, and it is additionally served by Allegiant, Alaska/Horizon, Delta, Frontier, Skywest and United. Denver, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis are the biggest hubs serving Billings.
Get around
There is no public transportation in Red Lodge but its mostly very walkable, biking is an option in good weather. Otherwise all travel needs to be by car.
See
- Carbon County Historical Society Museum, 224 N. Broadway, 45.18973°, -109.24665°, +1 406-446-3667. Popular historical museum in Red Lodge.
- Smith Mine Disaster Site, 45.1563609°, -109.1848111°. Site of one of the worst mining disasters in United States history, where 74 miners died in a powerful explosion in 1943. The site itself is not open to visitors, but there is a historical marker near the area that provides an account on what happened. You can see the mining site from where the historical marker stands. 2019-09-16
Do
- Red Lodge Mountain. Basic all around skiing.
Buy
Eat
Drink
- Red Lodge Ales Brewing Company, 1445 North Broadway, +1 406 4460243. 11AM to 10PM. Serving beers brewed on-premise. 2019-09-16