Montana
Beartooth Highway, Montana Office of Tourism
Montana’s Scenic Byways
Montana is home to nine scenic byways, one of which – Beartooth Highway – has been designated as an All-American Road, which is the gold standard of scenic byways. Montana’s Beartooth Highway provides dramatic views of the Beartooth Mountain Range and provides access to Yellowstone through its northeast entrance. Montana’s natural beauty attracts visitors from around the globe, which only increases the significance to Montana’s scenic byways to local economics and their development.
Key Points
- Montana is home to nine scenic byways, including one All-American Road and eight state or federal agency scenic byways.
- In 2019, visitors to Montana spent about $3.76 billion, directly, and indirectly supporting more than $5.28 billion in state economic activity.
- National parks generated $892 million in total economic output in gateway communities in 2019, supporting 9,620 jobs and $306 million in labor income.
Montana Byways
Map Key:
- All-American Roads
- State Scenic Byways
All-American Roads
Byways Provide Access to Public Lands
Montana byways provide access to the state’s most spectacular public lands, including nine national forests, two national parks, seven state parks, two national wildlife refuges, and two national historic sites.
About the National Scenic Byways Program
The National Scenic Byways Program, established by Congress in 1991, recognizes historic, scenic, and culturally important roads, all of which promote economic development and tourism in communities around the U.S. There are more than 1,200 byways in all 50 states.
All scenic byways exhibit one or more of six core intrinsic qualities — scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, or natural. For a road to be named a national scenic byway, it must first be designated a state, tribal, or federal agency scenic byway. Once achieving that, a road may apply for national scenic byway designation, but its intrinsic quality must be of regional significance. All-American Roads are the very best of the national scenic byways, demonstrating at least two intrinsic qualities of national significance.