The Beartooth Mountains are located in south central Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

 and northwest Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and are part of the 900,000 acre (3,600 km²) Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness was created from existing National Forest lands in 1975 and is located in Montana and Wyoming, United States. The wilderness is partly in Gallatin, Custer and Shoshone National Forests and is composed of . The wilderness encompasses two distinct mountain ranges, namely...

, within Custer

Custer National Forest

Custer National Forest is located primarily in the southern part of the U.S. state of Montana but also has separate sections in northwestern South Dakota. With a total area of 1,278,279 acres , the forest comprises over 10 separate sections...

, Gallatin

Gallatin National Forest

Founded in 1899, Gallatin National Forest is located in south central Montana, United States. The forest comprises 2.1 million acres and has portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries...

 and Shoshone National Forest

Shoshone National Forest

Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2.5 million acres in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S....

s. The Beartooths are the location of Granite Peak

Granite Peak (Montana)

Granite Peak, at an elevation of above sea level, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the tenth highest state high point in the nation. It lies within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, in Park County very near the borders of Stillwater County and Carbon County...

, which at 12,807 feet (3,904 m) is the highest point in the state of Montana. The mountains are just northeast of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

 and are part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth and is partly located in Yellowstone National Park. Conflict over management has been controversial, and the area is a flagship site among conservation groups...

. The mountains are traversed by road via the Beartooth Highway

Beartooth Highway

The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road that has been called "the most beautiful drive in America," by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt...

 (U.S. 212) with the highest elevation at Beartooth Pass (10,947 ft, 3,345 m).