Transportation
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Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan and 124 men made the first documented passage over the Beartooth Mountains in 1881. The route, once thought impassable, was later modified by E. E. Van Dyke, a miner from coal-rich Red Lodge, Montana, to provide access through Rock Creek to Red Lodge, though it remained a steep and rugged trail. Early Native Americans, trappers, and prospectors also traveled in this country, and much of the original route created more than a century ago can still be crossed today. Early advocates envisioned a scenic route over these mountains reaching Yellowstone National Park, but Congress was reluctant to support the costly task of building a road over an 11,000-foot plateau. After years of persistence and two years of construction, the Beartooth Highway opened to the public in 1936 and was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway in 1989.
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