Grand Tour
The Great Divide
Seven days from Glacier National Park to Durango, across the high passes of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
A week and fifteen hundred miles, from the pine and glacier country along the Canadian border to the old mining towns of the San Juans, collecting the finest mountain roads in the American West in one continuous run. Going-to-the-Sun opens it, the Beartooth stacks its switchbacks to nearly eleven thousand feet in the middle, and the Million Dollar Highway carries you along the cliffs to the finish in Durango.
Two of the seven days are plain transfers across Montana and Wyoming ranch country, long and straight and worth it for the sense of scale alone. Glacier and Rocky Mountain both run timed-entry reservations in high summer, so book before you fly. The high passes keep their own weather: the Beartooth has closed for snow in August, and afternoon storms build over Trail Ridge most summer days.
The Crown of the Continent
Overnight: St. MaryFrom West Glacier the road climbs fifty miles over Logan Pass to St. Mary, and in peak season you will need a vehicle reservation as well as patience. It rarely opens end to end before late June, and some years the plough crews need until July.
Across Montana
Overnight: Red LodgeA transfer day, honestly: a good six hours south-east, first down the Rocky Mountain Front, then along the Yellowstone with the Crazy Mountains for company. Red Lodge sits tight under the Beartooth plateau, the right bed for an early start.
The Beartooth and the Chief Joseph
Overnight: CodyOut of Red Lodge the switchbacks pile up to nearly eleven thousand feet of tundra and long views, then drop to Cooke City at Yellowstone's quiet north-east gate. Double back to the Chief Joseph turning and descend over Dead Indian Pass into Cody.
The long road south
Overnight: Estes ParkThe second and longer transfer: the best part of eight hours from Cody through Thermopolis, the Wind River Canyon and the Wyoming high plains to Estes Park. Arrive before dark, because tomorrow starts early.
Above the treeline
Overnight: LeadvilleOver the top of Rocky Mountain National Park on the highest continuous paved road in America, eleven miles of it above the treeline; book the timed-entry permit well ahead. Lunch in Grand Lake, then follow the Colorado downstream and climb to Leadville for a night at over ten thousand feet.
Independence Pass
Overnight: OurayHalf an hour south of Leadville the road leaves Twin Lakes and climbs over the Continental Divide at just over twelve thousand feet, narrowing to a single lane where the mountain allows nothing wider. Aspen is the comedown, and Ouray is another three hours on, the long way round over McClure Pass.
The Million Dollar Highway
Overnight: DurangoTwenty-three miles from Ouray to Silverton, shelved into the wall of the Uncompahgre Gorge with precious little guard rail. Carry on over Molas and Coal Bank passes into Durango, where the trip ends a short walk from a good steak.
