we are trying to plan a trip to ride these areas. we will trailer/toybox to a site and hub ride out of wherever.

we have been told that the weather window for trips to these areas is narrowed to june,july,& august because of temps.

we don't mind riding cool or even cold, but not bitter numbing cold and want the trip to be enjoyable.

any suggestions on time frame,places to stay, and off the main beat places to see.

we live on the gulf coast Texas,louisiana border so anything with mountains is enjoyable.

thanks in advance for your help & suggestions.

 

Four of us from TN went to Hog, end June. The weather was great. We got some bad weather, hail, sleet, rain. When the bad weather hits in the mountains, it gets cold in a hurry.

I would suggest moving around with your base camp. You didn't want to hear that since you mentioned you're trailering. You can set up in Cody, WY or Red Lodge, MT but you're going to do a lot of backtracking on the Beartooth and Chief Joseph. Not that's such a bad thing though. Each ride is different wether you're going North or South.

As far as Yellowstone is concerned, Red Lodge is near the NE entrance to Yellowstone and Cody is at the SE entrance. THe Tetons are on the South side of Yellowstone. Don't look at the map and try to judge distance. The major towns and scenic attractions are much farther apart time wise than they appear on the map. 60 miles between towns can take 1 1/2 to 2 hours, easy!

Definitely go though. You won't believe how absolutely breathtaking it is out there.

 

thanks for the input.

figuring a base to hub out of is #1 problem. been told and understand that ride times are longer than nomally expected.

we have three weeks,so having to change camp one or two times is ok since we want to enjoy as much of the places as possible.

excluding the storms , were jackets and gloves enough??


how was the traffic situtation. we like to ride slow and enjoy the sites are the roads wide enough or pretty choked down?

any recommended sites have to see sites??? and i guess you need to stay fueled up to avoid and gas problems?

as for now guess we will try the june to avoid 4th july traffic.

 

You need rainsuits, good jackets, gloves, chaps, and something to layer with as far as the weather goes. We were there in late June Early July and had a little rain and hail over Beartooth Pass.

For don't miss sights, here are mine.

Grand Tetons, Million Dollar Bar in Jackson, Wyo., Yellowstone Park, Chief Joseph Highway between Miles City, Mt. and Cody, Wyoming, Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody Wyoming, Beartooth Pass between Miles City, Mt. and Red Lodge Montana, lunch at Bogart's in Red Lodge, Highway 14A through the Big Horn Mountains between Cody and Sheridan, Wyo., Custer Battlefield just north of Sheridan.

If you are a fly fisherman don't miss an afternoon on the North Tongue River on Rt 14A, and Rock Creek just north of Red Lodge.

As far as a time line, I would suggest mid June to very early September. You might get some rain and hail in the mountains for brief periods of time, but the weather shouldn't be bitter.

Regards,

Bill

 

with the info provided we will plan for a 1st ,3 weeks june trip. just want to miss as much of the summer vacation crowd as possible.

thanks for the list of sites and places to see. we now need to pick a site or two to hub out of for our rides.

thanks again for the input!
jules & gary

 

We did this a few years ago, but only for a week. We stayed in Cody, WY, and went in a differant direction every day. Had a great time.

Next time we go, we'll stay in West Yellowstone, and go in a differant direction every day.

For a third week, I'd head over to Rapid City, SD, or northern CO.

 

I live about 4 hours south of the Park so I go up several times a year. One thing to do, buy an annual pass if you are going to be there for an extended time or if you plan on going through other parks. An annual pass for all National Parks is $50.00 or you can pay $25.00 for a one week pass to get into Yellowstone/Teton. It makes more sense to buy the annual pass.

 

Madison campground is just inside the West entrance and is an awesome place to stay! You can always head down to Old Faithful for showers (closest for amenities).