Little bit of a rookie traveler here. I have rode out to Sturgis SD from Michigan the last two years. This year we are heading that way 10 days before the official opening week and thought we would go out to yellowstone park, beartooth pass and spend a couple nights in Sturgis on the way back home. I will be pulling a trailer behind the ultra and camping most of the time. Are there any highway loops you guys would recommend to catch all the sights without having to double back ? Campgrounds in Yellowstone park ? Thanks Rick

 

You may find that Yellowstone is almost completely booked for this season. My wife and I are driving
out there in mid-August and made reservations last Summer..

A nice loop is to go out the Northeastern exit, pick up Chief Joseph Hwy to Cody and then reenter
the park through the Eastern entrance. I rode that last June..

Good luck..

 

Took an extra day couple years ago and did the same. Rode from Hill City to Belle Fouche and HWY212 to visit Custer Battlefield and stayed the nite in Red Lodge MT. Next morning the Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Hwy and after lunch in Cody,WY back over the Bighorns via HWY14 to Sheridan and back I90 to Hill City before dark. It was a great ride and I had a blast that nite in Red Lodge. Will do it again someday, and spend an extra day in Red Lodge and visit Yellowstone.

 

We found a camping spot in Yellowstone last year, on Sunday the week Sturgis Rally started last year. Pack your long johns. It got down around freezing a couple of nites when we were there. Absolutely beautiful riding I enjoyed it more than riding the black hills.

 

Mammoth Springs campground has a few motorcycle only sites. Even when the campground had been full we have been able to camp there by splitting the cost with the fellow bikers. One time it was a couple of guys on beemers that weren't even using the tent area because they were sleeping on top of the picnic tables.

Mammoth is also the warmest spot in Yellowstone due to it's lower elevation. Just inside the North Gate. And don't forget to check out the Boiling River. A place where hot spring runoff meets the freezing Gardiner river. A great place to soak your bones after a days ride. Kind of a best kept secret about a mile from the campground.

 

We were in Yellowstone in June. The traffic was insane. So many traffic jams. Sitting for an hour in one of them. We bailed on it and went to Grand Teton. Much prettier and no traffic.

 

for sure take the time to ride chief joseph highway, that was right up there with beartooth for me last year

 

This June, we spent the night in Red Lodge then hit the Beartooth into Yellowstone. The Beartooth is one of the most beautiful rides I've ever done. Yellowstone was nice, but the crowds kinda killed it for me. Maximum speed limit is 45 and usually less than that. Couple the speed limits with people who will stop in the middle of the road to take pics of a prairie dog, and packed parking lots, and you can spend all day, just trying to get where you're going. Spent a night in the Tetons and it was also spectacular. Chief Joseph was great. Deadwood was cool and the Black Hills were awesome.

Bear

 

If you really want a ride to remember for some of the best views in the world, take Alt 14 through the beartooth pass. It goes up to 10,000 ft and some of the best switchbacks you will ever see. You will look down when you go around valleys to see clouds forming and we had snow along the ditches in July. You will talk about this ride for years to your friends...

 

Make sure and do Beartooth, Chief Joseph, Big Horns south and north. Yellowstone is very slow going. Tetons are nice