The only motel along the road from Red Lodge [1] to Cooke City [2] is a tiny and extremely basic place connected to the Top of the World Store (307/587-5368, $55–79), but there are plenty of places to pitch a tent along the Wyoming stretch of the Beartooth Highway [3] (406/446-2103, www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/ [4], July–Sept., $8–11).
High on the Beartooth Plateau, Island Lake, about 40 miles west of Red Lodge, and Beartooth Lake, three miles farther west, have trails leading to the many alpine lakes to the north.
Fox Creek, seven miles east of Cooke City [2], and Crazy Creek, about three miles farther east, don’t have the alpine quality of the higher campgrounds, but they are convenient and attractive wooded riverside spots.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/montana/the-missouri-headwaters-and-south-central-montana/absaroka-beartooth-wilderness/red-lodge
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/montana/the-missouri-headwaters-and-south-central-montana/absaroka-beartooth-wilderness/cooke-city-and-silver-gate
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/montana/the-missouri-headwaters-and-south-central-montana/absaroka-beartooth-wilderness/beartooth-highway
[4] http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/custer/