More of a large village than a town -- Red
Lodge is on the scenic Beartooth Highway which rises
toward the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
Its main virtues lie in the wilderness around:
Yellowstone National Park to the west of the Beartooth
Range, the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness -- to the north
of Yellowstone -- and the wild beauty of the Beartooth
mountans and the scenic drives available on its
ridges.
What to See & Do
This is another of Montana's historic mining towns.
Red Lodge was a booming coal mining town between 1893 and
1910. During those years, European immigrant miners
settled the town, leaving their continental stamp on the
community. Today, the ethnic heritage of these miners is
felt during the Festival of Nations, held every August. A
mining disaster has led to one of the town's most popular
tourist attractions. 4 miles east of town, at Washoe, 74
men died in an underground explosion at the Smith Mine --
in 1943. The mine's tipple and several buildings still
stand on the site. To get more of the mining perspective,
visit the Carbon County Museum which is south of
town on Highway 212. The museum features the homestead
cabin of John Garrison, the prototype for the movie
character "Jeremiah Johnson".
21 miles north of Red Lodge, via Highway 212 and then
west of Boyd on a sideroad, Cooney Reservoir State
Recreation Area offers camping, boating and fishing.
There are more campgrounds operated by the U.S. Forest
Service along the Scenic Byway as it climbs the Beartooth
Range.
The whole downtown of Red Lodge (it isn't that big)
has been declared a National Historic District. Here are
buildings which were constructed during the mining boom
from 1893. One of the houses may be rented, all of it, or
in part.
Red Lodge Hotels
The Montana Guest Lodge has hosted such guests
as Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane. There are several
motels as well as bed and breakfast homes. Rock Creek
Resort, west of Red Lodge, is a deluxe vacation
resort with all the amenities one could want, at the base
of the Beartooths. For accommodations details, see below.
A good feature of the Red Lodge accommodation scene is
a central reservations office which handles
reservations for all motels and guest houses, call
800-444-8977. A handful of standard chain hotels can be
found in the town.
Camping
Red Lodge KOA
Full hook-ups, a pool and playground here, open June 1 to
Oct. 1 on US 212, 4 miles north of town.
