Blacktail Plateau

The Blacktail Plateau drive offers a unique opportunity to hit the dirt in Yellowstone National Park. To avoid crowds, drive the road in the early morning or evening hours. In doing so you'll spot more wildlife, especially bears that roam this area. June and July also offer good wildflower viewing. The one-way dusty lane passes through a thin evergreen forest that quickly gives way to gentle slopes covered by sagebrush and thick grass and parallels a small stream for a short distance. Broad views of northeastern Yellowstone and its surrounding mountain ranges are revealed as the road climbs to its high point around mile 4. From here, the road descends sharply into heavier timber as it kinks tightly through the Elk Creek drainage. It ends in a burned-out valley near Tower Junction on the Grand Loop Road.