Welcome to the Cooke City, Montana Picture Tour

The panorama above show you views as you travel east from downtown Cooke City, Montana on Highway 212 to the outskirts of town. We included two June panoramas of the Beartooth Plateau to give you an idea what the landscape looks like past the seasonal road block on the west side of Cooke City

There is nothing better than a visit to Yellowstone in the winter. To reach Cooke City, Montana in the winter you have to take the 52-mile “North Road” from Gardiner, Montana to Cooke City.  It should take you a minimum of two hours to cover the distance. You’ll want to stop often and get out to look and listen at the wildlife.

In the winter you share the road with the National Park Bison. That means you can see and HEAR these magnificent animals as they walk by your vehicle. As a rule, Buffalo are incredibly polite to visitors. They would never intentionally hurt your feelings. But if you roll down your window an inch or two and listen closely as they pass by, you just might hear them giggle at your “funny looking” ski hat.

Winter snow lingers in Cooke City, Montana for a long time.  The snow covered Cooke City pictures you see in this tour were shot on the second of April. If you are thinking about winter camping near Cooke City you are out of luck, all campgrounds close in September due to snow. The Mammoth Hot Springs Campground is the ONLY year round campground in Yellowstone National Park that doesn’t require a back county permit.

On the 52 mile return trip to Mammoth, Montana be sure to make a “date” to listen to the wolves.  When the sunlight is almost gone.  Jump in your vehicle and slowly drive back on the Highway 212 / Northeast Entrance Road. About twenty minutes outside of Cooke City find a roadside pull-off, stop your vehicle, turn off the motor, get out and listen… Do you hear ’em?  While you wait for a howl watch the Milky Way and shooting stars float through the night sky.