Best Road Trips in the Northern Rockies: Montana, Wyoming and Idaho - Trip Canvas
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Best Road Trips in the Northern Rockies: Montana, Wyoming and Idaho
Updated: May 27, 2025
Written byAAA Travel Editor, Katie Broome
The spine of western North America constitutes one of the greatest mountain ranges in the world: the legendary Rockies, which stretch from the Liard River in northern British Columbia south to the Sangre de Cristos of New Mexico. Host to some of the wildest and certainly some of the most scenic terrain on the continent, the Rocky Mountains make for a great road trip destination and are also home to arguably the richest abundance and greatest diversity of large mammals. This iconic range is well known as an outdoors and nature enthusiast’s playground, with vast tracts protected on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border in public lands.
The northern reaches of the U.S. section of the range make for an top-tier road-tripping destination. In the guide below, we’re spotlighting some of the best scenic drives and national-park-hopping routes in the utterly sublime Northern Rocky Mountains.
The geographically inclined should take note: We’re using that label a little loosely to include not only the Northern Rockies proper, which mainly encompass western Montana and central/northern Idaho as well as slivers of northeastern Washington and northwestern Wyoming, but also what eco-geographers often call the “Middle Rockies,” which cover nearly all the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming (as well as portions of Idaho, Utah and Colorado). Long story short: The Cowboy State as well as Montana and Idaho are our primary focus here, though we’re also spotlighting some options to extend your road-tripping into adjacent states and Canadian provinces.
From the internationally renowned Going-to-the-Sun Road winding through the high country of Glacier National Park to the wildlife throngs of Yellowstone, the soaring fangs of the Teton Range and the serrated glories of Idaho’s Sawtooths, find some inspiration for some unforgettable road trips in the Rockies below.
Best Montana Road Trips
The scenery in Montana is as impressive as it is varied. Thick forests, towering mountains, deep valleys and pristine lakes characterize the western part of the state, which includes the northern Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide. It’s the topography of Montana’s west that inspired the name montaña, the Spanish word for “mountain” or “mountainous region.”
Of all Montana road trips, this one is perhaps the most popular: Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. The 50-mile route cuts across Glacier National Park at an elevation of 6,646 feet and is open seasonally, so you’ll want to plan accordingly. To include the road as part of a longer trip, consider AAA’s , 374-mile journey that starts in Kalispell, Montana and ends in the capital city of Helena. (AAA members can take advantage of exclusive member benefits with car rentals from Hertz.)
A drive through the eastern portion of Montana will have you wondering, “Why is the sky so big in Montana?” It’s the prairie grasslands and wide-open vistas of the east that gave Montana the nickname “Big Sky Country.” To see these expansive, impossibly blue skies, consider the following road trips:
Big Sky Country Road Trip: A scenic 425-mile journey that starts and ends in Billings, Montana, looping through southern Montana and a small section of northern Wyoming. You’ll see the cowboy town of Cody, snow-capped mountains and hairpin turns along Beartooth Scenic Highway—among the highest paved roads in North America, switchbacking up to the rolling alpine tundra and timberline groves of the top-of-the-world Beartooth Plateau and cresting 10,940 feet at Beartooth Pass—and important sites in Native American history like Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
Big Sky Back Country Scenic Byway: Further east in Montana’s Great Plains region, this 111-mile journey takes you through badlands, buttes and rolling prairies.
For Montana drives under one hour, consider these additional trips:
Flathead Lake West Shore Scenic Highway: Follows the shore of glacially formed Flathead Lake, said to be the largest natural body of freshwater west of the Mississippi River
Road Trips Around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
Established in 1872, Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and continues to be one of its most-visited, with approximately 4 million visitors each year. If you want to be among those visitors and experience one of the best places for road trips in the U.S., here are a few things to know about Yellowstone:
The park is big — very big. Based on total land area, Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
The vast majority of Yellowstone’s 3,472 square miles lie in northwestern Wyoming, but its boundaries also extend into Idaho and Montana. (Three of the five park entrances are in Montana.)
Wildlife sightings are common from park roadways, so drive with caution; you may see grizzlies, black bears, elk, bighorn sheep, moose and bison.
Most park roads are open May through October (weather permitting), but check the Yellowstone road status website for the most current information.
To see Yellowstone’s dramatic river canyons, geysers, geothermal pools and waterfalls in all their glory, take the road trip, a 400-mile journey from Bozeman, Montana to Jackson, Wyoming, with plenty of national park stops along the way. You’ll enter through the park’s west entrance (in West Yellowstone, Montana) before making a scenic loop that includes the popular Yellowstone Grand Loop in the heart of the park. This Yellowstone drive includes a trip through Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park, with magnificent views of Jenny Lake, the Teton Range and the valley of Jackson Hole.
DC_Colombia / iStockphoto.com
What Else to See on a Wyoming Road Trip (Besides Yellowstone)
Once you’ve done the scenic drives around Yellowstone National Park, what else should you see in Wyoming? Just outside Yellowstone’s northeast entrance is the aforementioned Beartooth Highway, a two-lane road that’s been called one of the most scenic American road trips. It rises to an elevation of almost 11,000 feet, with plenty of overlooks where you can stop for a photo. (If you’re starting from Cody, Wyoming, take the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway to reach Beartooth Scenic Highway; it offers more views of snow-capped mountains and deep canyons.)
South of Yellowstone, you can explore the ski resorts and mountains around Jackson Hole and Star Valley. The Star Valley to Yellowstone Scenic Highway will take you from Yellowstone’s south entrance into Grand Teton National Park and then through Jackson Hole and a handful of small towns near the Idaho border. This trip is a good jumping-off point for visiting Snow King Mountain and the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming.
North-central Wyoming near the Montana border offers many scenic drives and small towns worth exploring. From I-90 just south of the Montana–Wyoming border, you’ll have your pick of two scenic drives that start on US 14: the Bighorn Scenic Byway is a roughly 200-mile route across the Bighorn and Shoshone national forests on the way to Cody, while the Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Highway heads toward Bighorn Lake on US 14A. The Bighorn Scenic Byway follows SR 120 past the vast prairies of Bighorn Basin to Thermopolis, Wyoming, a town known for its hot springs. Continue south on the Wind River Canyon Scenic Byway to Shoshoni for more views of canyons, rock formations and the Bighorn River.
Ron Thomas / iStockphoto.com
Best Idaho Road Trips
Breathtaking mountain scenery, diverse wildlife, raging river rapids and a ski town that rivals Aspen — it’s easy to see why the state of Idaho makes a great road trip destination. The west region of Idaho boasts the Payette River Scenic Byway, a 90-minute drive that snakes along the Payette River, with frequent pull-offs to admire the view.
Scenic drives in Idaho’s central region will acquaint you with the state’s remote wilderness and craggy granite peaks. The Sawtooth Scenic Byway follows SR 75 through Sawtooth National Recreation Area, passing the popular resort towns of Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley along the way. You may see wildlife like pronghorn antelope, deer, elk and wolves in this area.
Another must-do road trip in the central region of Idaho is the Salmon River Scenic Byway, which follows the Salmon River (also known as the River of No Return, due to its strong current) past waterfalls and spectacular areas for whitewater rafting. As you near the Montana border, you can put yourself in the shoes of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who traveled through these mountain passes in 1805 on their journey west.
In northern Idaho’s panhandle is a portion of the only International Scenic Byway in North America: the International Selkirk Loop. This 88-mile section of the Selkirk Loop offers great river scenery and wildlife watching opportunities around the Selkirk Mountains. (To make the full international loop, you'll need to be sure to bring your passport — by adding on Washington’s International Selkirk Scenic Loop to the west and British Columbia's International Scenic Loop to the north).
Nearby is the Pend Oreille Scenic Byway, a two-lane road that follows the Clark Fork of the Columbia River from the Idaho–Montana border to Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced pond-ah-RAY), one of the largest freshwater lakes in the Pacific Northwest.
A stone’s throw from the western boundary of Yellowstone National Park, gaze at some of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s lesser-known but hidden gems, glorious natural scenery along the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway between Island Park and Ashton, Idaho. This roughly 30-mile route takes you to Upper and Lower Mesa Falls, tremendous plunges of the Henrys Fork of the Snake River down volcanic rock—the Mesa Falls Tuff—blasted out from the Yellowstone Plateau’s Henrys Fork Caldera. The up-close look at Upper Mesa Falls, which spans 200 or so roaring feet and drops 114 feet, surging upwards of 1,500 cubic feet per second of water during peak seasonal flow, is especially head-spinning.
A spectacular variety of landscapes awaits you along the Peaks to Craters Scenic Byway, meanwhile, which traces Highway 93 between the vicinity of Carey and the Custer County seat of Challis. The route takes you from the otherworldly basalt scablands of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve on the Snake River Plain up into striking valleys between such impressive ranges as the White Knob Mountains, the Pioneer Mountains and the mighty Lost River Range, which encompasses the Gem State's high point: 12,662-foot Borah Peak, host to the only named glacier in Idaho and looming within shouting distance of the byway.
Natalia Bratslavsky / iStockphoto.com
Best Time of Year for a Northern Rockies Road Trip
June to September is the best time of year for a Northern Rockies road trip, with the best chances of sunny skies and mild temperatures occurring in summer. July is the hottest month on average in these states.
Given the ideal driving conditions in June, July and August, expect plenty of crowds when road-tripping through tourist-heavy areas like Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Teton national parks in the summer months.
If you plan to visit Yellowstone National Park in the fall or spring, keep in mind that roads may close for winter conditions as early as October and remain closed until mid-April. In Glacier National Park, roads at higher elevations (such as the alpine portion of Going-to-the-Sun Road) can close in October and remain closed until late June or early July.
Some Grand Teton National Park roads may close from November through April or mid-May for winter recreational use.
Winters are particularly harsh in the Northern Rockies and driving in winter months can be dangerous due to slush, frost, snow, ice and white-out conditions.
No matter the season, always be prepared for dramatic temperature changes and unpredictable weather in the Northern Rockies, especially at higher elevations.
VISIT DENVER / Rocky Mountain National Park
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