While the term “social distancing” is currently all the rage (somewhat unfortunately), as a solo motorcyclist, I have been a practicing distancer for quite awhile. For more than just 6 feet, too.

A large part of my trip planning has revolved around finding and experiencing what I always hope will be the best of the Western United States (and BC, too). For me, that means byways with very little traffic, big vistas, hard to get to special places, and in general, the road less traveled. Notice I did not say crowded parking lots at National Parks. Luckily, there are enough great places to visit that staying away from crowds is fairly easy to do. It does take some planning, and in many cases, when you go matters almost as much as where you go.

Case in point, the photo above is an example of paying close attention to the calendar, to calculate the best time to visit the best place. The Beartooth Highway, also known as U.S. Route 212, straddles Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

My trip, in June of 2017, was made from Yellowstone (Cody, WY) towards Red Lodge. The specific plan for the timing was to arrive and ride the Beartooth while the large snow walls were still in place along the route. This is one of the highest roadways in the US, at almost 11,000 feet. Throughout May, I watched the Montana DOT YouTube channel as they documented the work required to open the road by Memorial Day. The drifts and avalanched snow piles up all Winter, and then the highway guys attack it with heavy equipment.

I went through the area at the end of the first week of June. The weather was clear, crisp, and not too windy. There were very few people traversing the area. At the summit, the terrain is pretty bare, so wind, rain or fog would be awful and likely dangerous on a motorcycle. I lucked out. It was as beautiful as I had hoped. I closed out my day in Red Lodge with a celebratory brew (from Red Lodge Ale). Cheers to social distancing!