In less than a mile, paved FR 838 turns off to the right. It leads into the Bear Lodge Mountains and goes to Warren Peak Lookout and Reuter Campground. The Black Hills Drive gives a more complete description. Past the junction, the highway climbs into grassy hills dotted with scattered oak groves and a few ponderosa pines. The road passes through rolling country with good views of the Bear Lodge Mountains to the northeast and the Powder River Basin to the west.
Pines tend to cover the ridges, while hay fields and pastures blanket the valleys.
The first view of distant Devils Tower appears from a ridge top about 12 miles into the drive. Its otherworldly appearance is unmistakable. It was always a well-known landmark, but became famous and much more heavily visited after the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind popularized it. Views of the tower improve as you progress along the ridge. The highway then drops off the ridge into the Miller Creek valley.