Enough time for drive to and from Billings airport?

We will be coming into Billings airport at 10:45am. Would I be able to come to Cooke City via Beartooth or Mammoth Hot Springs or Gardiner via freeway for overnight or is it too ambitious?

Our flight out of Billings is at 1:20pm and I am planning on staying in Mammoth hot springs the night before and driving out on the day of departure. Is it enough time?

I still can%26#39;t make up my mind about driving on Beartooth hwy. I was really nervous driving in Yosemite, so not sure if it would be a good idea to go on beartooth.

Enough time for drive to and from Billings airport?

You said you wanted to see YNP forever. Well, you are doing it, congratulations!

I%26#39;m puzzled by your question re: time between points; was this not answered in your earlier post?

You drive the Beartooth carefully, slowing a lot at ';hairpin'; turns, being aware of the curve signs, slowing ahead of time, stopping lots to take in the views. The road is quite good with many viewpoints/pullouts, so you can take a break if you need it. And this description is probably making more of that drive than is warranted. Admittedly, this is not Indiana roadways, but you%26#39;ll do fine.

I%26#39;m unsure what part of Yosemite was unnerving, but if it was the Tioga Pass road out of Lee Vining, I understand. It%26#39;s been many years since I was on that road, but given what it was then, I would not put it in the same category as the Beartooth.

Enough time for drive to and from Billings airport?

Yes! I am really excited. The initial plan was to stay in Billings the day of arrival but I was thinking of heading to the park the same day as we our flight will be getting there early.

You have been a great help planning our trip and I really appreciate input from all of you!!

In your original post asking the same question you arrived in Billings at 12:30 pm. With an almost 2 hours earlier arrival yes you could make it to either Cooke City or Mammoth reasonably. Mammoth would obviously be easier to reach because its mainly interstate driving. While the Livingston to Garinder stretch is very beautiful there really isn%26#39;t a lot of places to stop for sightseeing so its pretty easy to drive straight through. Billings to Red Lodge will be non-stop driving. There is a really neat little place to eat on the south side of Red Lodge called the Red Box Car Inn. Its an old railroad boxcar that has been converted into a restaurant. There are only a few tables inside but they have an area with picnic tables just outside where you sit right next to Rock Creek and get to eat. We eat there everytime we come back from hiking the trails on the Wyoming side of the pass. Once you start going over the pass you%26#39;re driving time will slow down because of the speed limit and stopping for picture opportunities.

I guess only you know how well your 3 yr old will do with getting up early in the morning, the flight, and then more driving. I stand by my recommendation of driving to Red Lodge and staying overnight there. There are motels with swimming pools which might be really relaxing and fun for you child to unwind after a long first day of traveling. Red Lodge also has the Beartooth Nature Center which would give your child an awesome opportunity to see a multitude of wild animals close up. All the animals are wild rescued animals that cannot be returned to the wild. Right now the center is on a 8 acre site at the north end of the town. They have bought 20 acres out of town and are fund raising for the infrastructure and move. The present center is in cramped quarters but they do a really nice job with the animals. If you decide to stay in Red Lodge it will give everyone opportunity to unwind, see a few things that might otherwise be missed in the rush to drive through and also be refreshed for going over the pass and into the park the next day.

Once you get over the pass there are some campgrounds before you get to Cooke City where there are easy trails that are nice to get out and walk around. Nice way to stretch your legs and let a 3 yr old burn off some energy. If you feel like that is something you%26#39;d like to have more info on let me know and I can post some suggestions of where to take some short, easy walks.

Deb

Thank you Voyaging and Deb for all your advice. You guys really take time to help newbies like us plan our trips.

Talked to hubby last night and he didn%26#39;t want to go on Beartooth hwy (should have done that earlier so I didn%26#39;t have to bother you with all my questions). So we are going to Gardiner on the day of arrival.

Thanks again!

No problem, TourWorld. Have a great trip!