Beartooth Mountains Guided Hiking Tour
Situated northeast of the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, the Beartooth Mountains, for the most part, are contained within the vast Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. The rugged terrain, high elevations and somewhat remote location are factors that conspire to preserve the pristine quality of this region. The Absarokas are named after the Crow Indians, as Absaroka is the native name for Crow. They form a chain of mountains characterized by stratified rocks, forested valleys and rugged peaks, and are home to a variety of wild animals, notably the threatened grizzly bear. Lower elevation dense forests contrast with the many intermingled mountain meadows before giving way to alpine meadows and patches of subalpine forest.
Montana’s Highest Mountain Range
Conversely, the eastern side of the wilderness is dominated by the high granitic plateaus of the Beartooth Mountains, named after their resemblance to a bear’s tooth. This imposing mountain range is home to the highest 40 mountains in Montana. The ragged rock peaks and sheer rock walls plunge to talus slopes and canyon bottoms in the Beartooths. Hundreds of lakes lie among the bald rock and alpine tundra of the plateaus. This country is starkly beautiful but extremely fragile with unpredictable changes in weather. Wildlife that you may see includes moose, mule deer, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.
From the mountain peaks, glaciers, tundra plateaus, lakes, and basins of the high elevations to the midslopes and deep canyons and valleys below, the Absaroka-Beartooth offers scenic panoramas.