Scenic Drives in Wyoming

Overview

Wyoming has more designated scenic byways than most people expect from a state that gets reduced to its national parks in most travel guides. The full Wyoming Travel Guide connects scenic drives across every corner of the state, from the high-desert canyon country near Flaming Gorge to the 10,947-foot crest of Beartooth Pass above Cooke City. No shuttle required, no ranger station, no admission gate for most of them, just a full tank of gas and a clear weather window, though mountain passes can close on short notice even in July.

The routes below are the ones worth building time around rather than squeezing in as afterthoughts. Most take two to four hours of pure driving, but the ones worth doing take six to eight once you stop for the overlooks, the wildlife, and the occasional bison traffic jam. Plan the gas stops in advance. Services disappear quickly once you leave the main highway corridors.

What to Expect

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY-296) covers 46 miles between Cody and the northeast corner of Yellowstone, climbing through the Absaroka Range and dropping into the Clarks Fork Valley. The highway is named for the Nez Perce leader who moved his people through this terrain in 1877, trying to reach Canada, and the landscape hasn't changed much since. Dead Indian Summit sits at 8,048 feet, and the overlook there looks back down the canyon toward Cody with nothing blocking the view for 40 miles. At the north end, the road meets the Beartooth Highway (US-212) just east of Cooke City. If you have the time, drive that segment east toward Red Lodge, Montana: Beartooth Pass tops out at 10,947 feet, one of the highest paved roads in the country, with switchbacks above treeline and views down into glacial cirques that stop most people cold.

The Bighorn Scenic Byway crosses the Bighorn Mountains using US-14 and US-14A between Lovell on the west and Sheridan on the east, roughly 55 miles and about 90 minutes of road time, though the Tongue River Canyon and Cloud Peak Wilderness sections are not routes you rush. US-14A climbs to Medicine Wheel Passage at 9,430 feet and passes the Medicine Wheel, a prehistoric stone structure about 80 feet in diameter high on Medicine Mountain. It remains a sacred site for Crow, Arapaho, and Shoshone people and is treated accordingly with a short walk-in approach from the parking area. US-14 through Shell Canyon is lower, tighter, and cuts through red-and-gray Tensleep Sandstone formations with a short waterfall trail near the town of Shell that nearly every driver stops for.

Snowy Range Scenic Byway (WY-130) is the surprise drive of southeast Wyoming, open roughly late May through mid-October depending on annual snowfall. The highway runs about 29 miles between Centennial and Saratoga, cresting near 10,847 feet through Medicine Bow National Forest with open tundra views south toward the Colorado border. The aspen groves along this road peak in late September and early October, turning gold faster than almost anywhere else at elevation in Wyoming. Leave Laramie in the morning, drive the Snowy Range west, and drop into Saratoga for a soak at the free Hobo Pool hot spring by midafternoon. The round trip from Laramie runs about four hours without stops, six hours if you do it right.

Wind River Canyon (US-20) is the shortest drive on this list but one of the most geologically distinct: about 10 miles between Shoshoni and Thermopolis where the Wind River cuts through rock up to 2.7 billion years old. The Wyoming Highway Department placed roadside markers along the canyon explaining the exposed geologic periods in sequence, oldest at the south end and youngest at the north. It is essentially a geology lesson at 60 mph through sheer canyon walls. At the Thermopolis end, the drive connects naturally with a stop at Hot Springs State Park, where the State Bath House soak is free. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is a 10-minute detour from the hot springs and worth the stop, especially with kids in the car.

Teton Park Road (inner loop) runs 42 miles from Moose north to Jackson Lake Junction inside Grand Teton National Park, following the base of the Teton Range with the peaks filling the western horizon the entire way. The road is open from roughly mid-May through early November, with the northern section typically opening before the Moose-to-Jenny Lake stretch. Morning light hits the Cathedral Group peaks, Teewinot, Owen, and the Grand Teton at 13,775 feet, from the east, so driving north in the morning and south in the afternoon gives you front-lit peaks both ways. Turnouts at String Lake, Leigh Lake, and the Snake River oxbow south of Moose fill by 8 a.m. in July and August. Come earlier or go on a September weekday and you'll have them nearly to yourself, which is also when the drive overlaps with some of the best wildlife watching of the year as elk move into the valleys for the rut.

The North Fork Highway (US-14 Alt / US-20) connects Cody to Yellowstone's East Entrance along 52 miles of the North Fork of the Shoshone River through Shoshone National Forest. Theodore Roosevelt described this stretch as the most scenic 50 miles in America. The volcanic hoodoo formations in the upper canyon, eroded into spires and towers, look otherworldly from the road. Cody makes a solid base for this drive: leave in the morning, spend the day in the park, and be back in time for the Cody Nite Rodeo, which runs every evening June through August. The round trip from Cody to the Fishing Bridge area of Yellowstone and back runs about 160 miles and five to six hours with park stops.

Best Season

Most of the high-elevation passes, Beartooth, Snowy Range, Bighorn via US-14A, are open from late May or early June through mid-October. Beartooth Highway typically opens in late May and closes after the first heavy October snowfall. Check wyoroad.info before you go, as the date varies by a week or more year to year. The Snowy Range has a similar schedule. The Bighorn via US-14 through Shell Canyon stays open year-round; it's the Medicine Wheel road (US-14A) that closes in winter.

July and August give you reliable access to every route, long daylight, and active wildlife in the morning hours. The tradeoff is more traffic on Teton Park Road and the Yellowstone corridors, particularly on weekends. September is the smarter pick: aspen color begins by mid-month in the Snowy Range and Bighorns, elk rut fills the valleys and draws bulls into open meadows, and crowds thin noticeably after Labor Day. The Yellowstone and Grand Teton Road Trip itinerary builds the two-park loop around September for exactly those reasons.

Wind River Canyon is open and driveable year-round on US-20, and winter driving through the canyon with ice clinging to the 2,500-foot walls is a different kind of experience. The lower-elevation drives, Wind River Canyon, the lower Bighorn via US-14 through Shell Canyon, and the North Fork Highway to Yellowstone's East Entrance, work well into November in most years. January through March closes the East Entrance to Yellowstone to cars but opens the park to snowmobiles and snowcoaches.

Typical Costs

Most scenic byways in Wyoming are free to drive. The exceptions are roads that pass through federal land with entry fees. Teton Park Road and the North Fork Highway to Yellowstone's East Entrance both require a park entry pass: $35 per vehicle for Yellowstone or $35 per vehicle for Grand Teton (2025 rates), or $80 for an America the Beautiful annual pass that covers both parks plus every other federal fee area in the country. The Beartooth Highway enters Montana near Cooke City and connects to Yellowstone's northeast corner, which also requires the park pass if you continue into the park.

Beyond entry fees, budget carefully for gas. A loop from Cody up Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, across the Beartooth to Red Lodge and back, covers roughly 170 miles. Jackson to Cody the long way through Yellowstone and the Chief Joseph Byway is about 200 miles and four to five hours of driving. Fill up in Cody, Thermopolis, or Sheridan rather than counting on small-town availability in between, services disappear fast once you leave the highway.

Guided touring options exist if you prefer not to self-drive. Yellowstone Vacation Tours, based in West Yellowstone, runs full-day park tours covering the Grand Loop Road and pull-outs most drivers miss, with rates in the range of $130 to $250 per person depending on trip length and group size (current season rates). For outfitters who cover specific byways or the Bighorn country, the Tour Operators and Guides directory lists options by area. Guided driving tours are worth considering for first-timers who want context on what they're seeing along the Beartooth or through Yellowstone.

How to Book

Self-drive routes need no reservations, but planning still matters here. Check wyoroad.info or the WY511 app before leaving on any high-elevation drive. Passes close fast when weather moves in, and some close overnight then reopen by midday, worth refreshing the morning of your departure rather than assuming yesterday's conditions hold.

For the drives through Yellowstone and Grand Teton, neither park requires a timed-entry reservation to drive in, but lodging and campgrounds inside both parks book out months in advance, especially for July and August weekends. Lock in those reservations well before your trip if you want to stay inside the park boundaries rather than commuting from Cody or Jackson each day. If you're building a longer loop that takes in the Bighorns or Wind River Canyon on the way to or from the parks, see the Best Dude Ranches in Wyoming list for options near Cody, Sheridan, and Thermopolis, several ranches are within 30 minutes of major byway starting points and make a different kind of base than a motel in town.