This stretch of Wyoming highway traces one of America’s most dramatic escape routes

It’s America’s oldest national forest

You can drive 47 miles through Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains and never pass a gas station, a stoplight, or a town with more than a handful of people.

The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Highway 296, cuts through the Shoshone National Forest from Cody to the Beartooth Highway and the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone.

The Absaroka Range rises to the south, the Beartooths tower to the north, and the Clarks Fork Valley stretches between them. Give yourself at least two hours, more if you like to pull over.

800 people and 2,000 horses fled across four states

The road carries the name of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, whose people called themselves the Nimiipu. In the summer of 1877, the U.S. government forced them from their homeland in Oregon’s Wallowa Valley.

About 800 men, women and children set out with roughly 2,000 horses, covering more than 1,170 miles across four states trying to reach Canada.

They surrendered that October in Montana’s Bear Paw Mountains, less than 40 miles from the border.

The highway follows the path they carved through this stretch of the Absarokas, now part of the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, designated by Congress in 1986.

The Nez Perce faked out 600 cavalry soldiers here

Dead Indian Pass sits at 8,071 feet, the highest point on the byway.

From the overlook, you can see across the Absaroka Range, the Beartooth peaks and the Clarks Fork Valley far below. In September 1877, the Nez Perce reached this spot with 600 cavalry soldiers waiting on the plains.

They kicked up dust to fake a move south, then slipped north through a narrow gulch to the Clarks Fork River. Interpretive signs at the overlook tell the whole story.

Seven switchbacks drop 2,000 feet into Sunlight Basin

Past the summit, the road drops through seven switchbacks, and the view changes around every curve. You lose more than 2,000 feet of elevation in a short stretch before the valley opens up.

This is Sunlight Basin, surrounded by peaks above 10,000 feet.

Early trappers gave it the name because, as local lore goes, sunlight was the only thing that could reach the valley floor most of the year. Pullouts along the switchbacks give you room to stop and look back up.

Walk across Wyoming’s highest bridge at 285 feet

The Sunlight Creek Bridge carries Highway 285 285 feet above the creek below, the highest bridge in Wyoming.

Steel beams and pedestrian walkways on each side let you park on the east end and walk straight out over the gorge. Look down and you see granite walls carved by Sunlight Creek over millions of years.

The sheer canyon drops away on both sides with nothing between you and the water but air. It took until 1985 to build it, and the view is worth every step.

Wyoming’s only Wild and Scenic River runs right beside you

The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River follows the byway for about 20 miles.

Congress gave a 20.5-mile stretch of the river Wild and Scenic River status in 1990, the only river in Wyoming to carry that label. Canyon walls rise straight up as high as 1,200 feet from the water.

Deep chasms, waterfalls in the inner gorges and whitewater broken by deep pools line the route. Native Yellowstone cutthroat trout hold in the current, and fly fishing here draws people from across the country.

Two volcanic peaks guided explorers toward Yellowstone

As you near the Beartooth Highway junction, two peaks take over the western skyline. Pilot Peak stands at 11,699 feet with a sharp spire that makes it one of the hardest climbs in the Absaroka Range.

Index Peak rises to the north at 10,709 feet with a broad, rugged top. Both are volcanic rock inside the North Absaroka Wilderness.

Early explorers used them as landmarks when heading toward the Yellowstone area, and you can see why from the road.

President Harrison protected this forest back in 1891

Every mile of the byway runs through the Shoshone National Forest, the first federally protected national forest in the country.

President Benjamin Harrison signed it into law in 1891 as part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve.

The forest covers nearly 2.5 million acres across three mountain ranges: the Absaroka, the Beartooth and the Wind River. More than half of it is designated wilderness, open only by foot or horseback.

Native Americans lived in this region for at least 10,000 years before any federal protection existed.

Grizzlies, elk and golden eagles share the road

The byway runs through prime habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, so keep your eyes open. About 900 elk move through the Sunlight Basin area between November and May.

Mule deer, moose and bighorn sheep show up along the route regularly. This is grizzly bear country, so carry bear spray and store your food the right way.

Black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, golden eagles and mountain bluebirds round out what you might spot from the car or a pullout.

Cattle on the highway and wildflowers in every ditch

Late June and July bring wildflowers along the roadsides, and the color runs from the sagebrush flats near Cody all the way up to alpine meadows at the summit.

The road crosses open range, so watch for cattle on the highway during the summer months. Pullouts and turnouts give you safe spots to stop for photos without blocking traffic.

Come in fall and the aspen groves turn gold while the crowds thin out. The landscape shifts from grassland to dense forest to high meadow in under an hour.

Crandall is the only supply stop for 47 miles

The byway ends where it meets US Highway 212, the Beartooth All-American Road.

Turn west and you reach the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone through Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, a short drive away.

The tiny community of Crandall, near the western end, is the only place to grab supplies along the entire route. You can combine the Chief Joseph Byway with the Beartooth Highway for a full-day loop.

The Beartooth typically opens late May through mid-October, while the Chief Joseph stays open year-round to a point near the Yellowstone entrance.

No cell service and no gas, so fill up in Cody

The byway is fully paved and fine for a regular car. Summer and early fall give you the best shot at good weather, wildflowers and wildlife.

Cell service drops to nothing for most of the 47 miles, so download your maps and music before you leave town. Fill up on gas in Cody because there are no stations along the route.

The two spots you do not want to skip are the Dead Indian Summit Overlook and the Sunlight Creek Bridge.

Drive the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway in Wyoming

You pick up the byway 17 miles north of Cody at the junction of Wyoming Highway 120 and Highway 296.

From there, it runs 47 miles northwest to the Beartooth Highway junction, and the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone is about 14 miles west of that point.

Cody is your best base camp, with full services, hotels and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Check the official Shoshone National Forest and Travel Wyoming sites for road conditions before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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