Northern Rockies Tour planning

[Lovin' it Strom]

To chase away the winter blahs, I am starting to plan out our Northern Rockies tour. I am initially planning for mid June 2013. 14-15 days of touring from and back to Bailey, CO.

I want to hit some of the gold rated roads like Beartooth Pass and Going to the Sun Road. I want to hit Yellowstone, Glacier, Banff, and Tetons among other recommendations. Except for a small portion in northern Idaho and Canada, most of my route is in this region, hence I am posting here.

So let's hear it. What can't I miss= roads, passes, food, nudie bars , places to stay, etc.

We'll be two up on a V-Strom. Prefer paved, but can do some well maintained dirt. Might have another couple riding with us, not sure yet.

We would prefer about 5 hours a day saddle time. We're foodies but dieting now. We'll have some camping gear with us, but want some cheaper hotel stays too.

Place your recommendations here. I am sure others looking to ride these parts would like to see these too.

Someone thought there was a castle somewhere around Banff we could stay at? Any inmates with a spare room or tent space near Jackson to avoid having to reserve rooms last year?

Thanks in advance all.

[oldmanb777]

Battle Pass, Sinks Canyon, Mountain Man Museum, Pinedale, Buffalo Boll Historical Center Cody, Coffee in Cooke City. Snowy's, Going to the Sun, Ice feilds Parkway (Flat Irons on Steroids). The list is endless.

[boeing]

Planning trip this June ,any thoughts on route and good place to stay near halfway

[Lovin' it Strom]

If you take the route I would, avoiding the interstates, your halfway point should be somewhere around Vernal, UT. Lots of camping at Dinosaur and Flaming Gorge.

My recommendation is to look at the tent space thread and if you decide to go the hotel route you'd better book your room soon as I have found many of them filling up pretty damn early.

[Hondo]

I'd send a PM to Blakebird- he's been all over that part of the country-

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by Hondo

I'd send a PM to Blakebird- he's been all over that part of the country-

A few times over the last few years. The most recent was this last August, and I mention it because it was two-up and my days were planned on how many miles per day she'd be comfortable with, not me going solo.

We left Canada in Idaho heading for the west coast, so I'll throw in suggestions from other rides too.

This one took us from Denver to Thermopolis...Cody, Dead Indian Pass, Beartooth, Red Lodge, etc.

Parker, Thermopolis, Helena, Pincher Creek, Kananaskis Country, Banff.
(2 nights in Banff - up Icefields Parkway to Jasper and back to Banff)

http://goo.gl/maps/RZFXv

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...postcount=8996

===========

Idaho hwy 12 over Lolo Pass to Lolo/Missoula
Salmon, Driggs, Jackson, Yellowstone
Cody, Shell Canyon (Greybull), Sheridan
Devil's Tower, Black Hills

http://goo.gl/maps/C33hy

===========
a weekend blast on the ST1300, Cody, Beartooth, Bozeman, West Yellowstone, Jackson...

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...ana/?start=all

the view of the west side of the Tetons from around Driggs - beautiful country.

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by boeing

Planning trip this June ,any thoughts on route and good place to stay near halfway

June is high season for the area around Banff - that's one place you'll need to make a reservation for camping or motel rooms, it fills up quickly and is expensive.
Icefields Parkway to Jasper and back is a good day ride, including photo stops. If you want to get off and hike and really stay at places a while, stay in Jasper the night and see some of the sights up there (Malign Cyn, etc)

Kananaskis Country from Longview over hwy 40 is all paved, but there's a beautiful stretch south of there that's graded dirt that is worth seeing - depending on your comfort level riding two-up on that kind of surface.

June can also be iffy going over Beartooth Pass - there are websites that monitor plowing progress, so you can keep an eye on it.

Same issue with Going to the Sun Road with opening dates. There's almost always some road construction on the upper reaches too, with minor unpaved gravelly sections - but those don't present a challenge, more a chance have your pillion take pictures.

We planned our trip in August both for Jeanne's work schedule and knowing the places I wanted to ride would be open. (Beartooth and Going to the Sun Rd were really the only two concerns.)

Lodging is expensive in Banff - we stopped in Pincher Creek for one night so we could take time in Waterton Lakes and Glacier without having to race thru Kananaskis Country to Banff, and it saved money.... I made reservations in Pincher Creek before we left. Smallish town with a few motels, but they seemed to fill up quickly.

The only places I was concerned about not having something waiting for us was in that area - those were the only rooms we reserved in a two-week 5200 mile trip.

[TheMuffinMan]

+100,000 on Highway 12 over Lolo pass. It and the Sheep Creek Geologic Area in northern Utah near the Flaming gorge were tied for the most interesting stretches of paved road that I hit between Denver and Seattle on my trip last year,

Beartooth, Chief Joseph, and Going to the Sun are good but have high traffic volumes usually.


I'm definitely going back to both places this year to explore more.

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by TheMuffinMan

Beartooth, Chief Joseph, and Going to the Sun are good but have high traffic volumes usually.

Each time over Chief Joseph and Beartooth has been very little traffic - and it only really slows down at the summit switchbacks where people want to take pictures and there's no pullouts. My experience anyway.
And compared to any of the roads going into Yellowstone.... total bliss

GttS is packed as soon as it opens. When we went over in August, there was not a single parking spot at the Logan Pass visitor center, and folks were parked along the road for 1/4 mile each way.

[SugarDust]

Originally Posted by TheMuffinMan

+100,000 on Highway 12 over Lolo pass. ......

Agreed ...here's the start of 12 headed to Lolo..



The End

[eakins]

oh that road is sooo kick-ass!
you can camp at lolo pass at the hot springs and soak.
http://www.lolohotsprings.com/

Originally Posted by SugarDust

Agreed ...here's the start of 12 headed to Lolo..



The End

[boeing]

Lolo pass loks awsome but looks a little too far north for me.Will be staging out of Victor, Idaho probably two up day rides.Riding from Boulder ,looking at stopping at Vernal,Utah overnight but also considering I80 and Rock Springs, Anybody have any suggestions on where to stay in the Rock Springs area?

[Lovin' it Strom]

Just a little south of there is a hot spring campground that was recommended to me. I'll look it up when I get home tonight.

Edit: I found it. It is a little further south than I thought. Maple Grove, near Bear Lake.

[Lovin' it Strom]

Originally Posted by eakins

oh that road is sooo kick-ass!
you can camp at lolo pass at the hot springs and soak.
http://www.lolohotsprings.com/

What is Lolo like? Is it relaxing or more "family friendly?" Small pools, large pool, etc.

[Lovin' it Strom]

And...tell me about Thermopolis.

Where to stay, eat?

What are the springs like?