Alpine Lodge

Alpine Lodge sits at the north end of Red Lodge, Montana, on US Highway 212—the southern terminus of the Beartooth Highway, described by Charles Kuralt as "the most beautiful road in America" and recognized by the American Motorcycle Association as one of the top motorcycle roads in the world. The lodge's position at the base of the Beartooth Range in Carbon County's mountain resort town makes it simultaneously a gateway to the Beartooth-Absaroka Wilderness, the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, and the Blue-ribbon trout fishing of Rock Creek as it runs through the heart of Red Lodge's historic downtown. Motel rooms and cabins provide the accommodation with king and queen beds, in-room coffee makers, kitchenettes with microwave and refrigerator, air conditioning, and covered parking directly in front of each room. Picnic tables, BBQ grills, winter plug-ins for cold-season stays, and the option of adjoining rooms for family groups or larger parties round out the practical amenities. Showers, laundry, sports courts, and dining within walking distance in the downtown corridor complete the daily infrastructure. The lodge's position on Highway 212 gives arriving guests from the Billings direction their first view of Red Lodge's downtown architecture as they proceed south through town. The Beartooth Highway (US-212) begins south of Red Lodge and climbs 68 miles through the Beartooth Plateau to Yellowstone's northeast entrance, reaching its 10,947-foot summit at Beartooth Pass — the highest paved highway in the state of Montana. The highway's dramatic switchbacks above the Red Lodge valley, the glacier views from the summit plateau, and the alpine tundra wildflower displays in July and August make it a genuinely extraordinary drive that rivals any scenic highway in the American West. The highway is seasonal, typically open from late May through mid-October depending on snowpack, and travelers who time their visit to the high snowpack years encounter still-substantial snowfields above 10,000 feet even in midsummer. Red Lodge Mountain Ski Resort provides the winter recreation anchor for the town — 70 named runs on two interconnected summits, lift-served terrain reaching 9,416 feet, and a noticeably uncrowded mountain relative to the Wyoming and Colorado destinations that draw regional skiing traffic away from Montana's more modest-profile resort. Rock Creek, the spring-fed stream that runs through downtown Red Lodge, carries a wild trout population of cutthroat and brown trout that make it one of the more productive in-town fly fishing opportunities in the northern Rockies — the creek is fishable by walking from downtown businesses to the water's edge. The Home of Champions Rodeo in July and the Festival of Nations in August are Red Lodge's major summer event anchors. Alpine Lodge operates year-round in a mountain resort town where the seasonal rhythm is defined by the Beartooth Highway's opening in late May and closure in October or November. Summer brings the Beartooth drive tourism, Yellowstone gateway traffic, and the hiking and fishing visitors who fill Carbon County's outdoor recreation calendar. Winter brings the ski season visitors and the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing that the Beartooth foothills provide when the highway is closed. The lodge's central Red Lodge position makes it walking distance to the historic Broadway Avenue downtown district, where the locally owned restaurants, galleries, and outfitters that have maintained Red Lodge's character as a genuine mountain town rather than a resort community development are concentrated.