Traversing the spectacular Beartooth Highway in Montana and Wyoming is an unforgettable experience. The unspoiled mountain scenery along the highway inspired famed news correspondent Charles Kuralt to label it "America's most beautiful drive," yet the story behind this engineering marvel is largely unknown. It is an epic account of man versus nature to construct a road through unforgiving wilderness. Built during the height of the Great Depression and rising 10,947 feet above sea level, the Beartooth Highway sparked an economic boom in Red Lodge, Cooke City and Yellowstone National Park. Understandably, it continues to leave a profound impression on people privileged to drive it. Historian Jon Axline tells the exciting and colorful narrative behind the origins and construction of the Beartooth Highway.

Pack up the car and enjoy twenty-four of the most memorable drives in the Treasure State. Offering over 2,250 miles of riding pleasure, this indispensable highway companion maps out unforgettable trips for exploring the region. Discover classic areas of the state that many visitors miss, from Glacier National Park’s magnificent Going-to-the-Sun Road in the northwest to the rugged rangelands and red-tinted badlands of eastern Montana. Along the way you’ll discover ghost towns, glaciers, hot springs, and great hiking and wildlife-viewing opportunities—a mere taste of what the Big Sky Country has to offer.

Much of Montana's exciting history is visible from its storied highways. Visit a segment of the historic Bozeman Trail overlooking Virginia City, where vigilantes hanged public nuisance Joseph Alfred Slade just as his wife attempted a horseback rescue. Discover the saga of adultery, attempted murder and eventual triumph that occurred at a single stone building in the Browns Gulch area of Butte. On Highway 308 east of Red Lodge, learn more about the tragic 1943 Smith Mine disaster, where a methane explosion trapped and killed seventy-three miners. The catastrophe triggered investigations at the state and national level that resulted in improvements in mine safety. With more than two dozen stories, historian Jon Axline provides a front-seat view of the Treasure State's thrilling past, forgotten characters and overlooked oddities found by the wayside.

Distinguished by statesmen and magnates, Helena's history is colored with many other compelling characters and episodes nearly lost to time. Before achieving eminence in Deadwood, Sheriff Seth Bullock oversaw Montana Territory's first two legal hangings. The Seven Mile House was an oasis of vice for the parched, weary travelers entering the valley on the Benton Road, despite a tumultuous succession of ownership. The heritage of the Sieban Ranch and the saga of "King Kong" Clayton, "the Joe Louis of the Mat," faded from public memory. From unraveling the myths of Chinatown to detailing the lives of red-light businesswomen and the Canyon Ferry flying saucer hoax, revered local historians Ellen Baumler and Jon Axline team up to preserve a compendium of Helena's yesteryear.

Traveling through Time While Montana's roadside historical markers give motorists an introduction to the state's colorful history, there's much more to explore. Priests Pass and Helena's Morelli Bridge were displays of ambition and fortitude. Conversely, the story The Black and White Trail represents the folly of one Doc Siegfriedt. Once thriving and strategically located along rails and roads, the towns of Beaverton and Taft are lost to history. While striking geological features like Tower Rock and picturesque byways like Harding Way are enduring vistas. Historian Jon Axline takes readers along the aboriginal trails, territorial roads, historic bridges and fascinating stopping points connected to Montana's lively and exciting transportation history.

With claims staked, 1870s prospectors at Cooke City patiently waited for adequate transportation to get their ore to market. Eager enough, they named the town in honor of Northern Pacific tycoon Jay Cooke. Ironically, Cooke's influence in creating Yellowstone National Park stunted the growth of the town, as the park blocked any efforts to support a railroad through its borders. For more than sixty years, residents waited for rail until a new economy took hold--tourism. The dreams of the miners still live on in tumble-down shacks and rusty old mining equipment. And the successful vision of entrepreneurs offering rustic relaxation at the doorstep of Yellowstone continues to lure visitors. Historian Kelly Hartman recounts the saga that left hundreds battling for a railroad that never came.