Beartooth Mtns - Yellowstone
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 8,831
Likes: 15
From: Nomad
RE: Beartooth Mtns - Yellowstone
You didn't say when you were going to head out this way.
All good advice for the Beartooth Highway. In sum....just take it easy. It will be cold up there and may rain/snow. Be prepared. As for altitude....like itileman said, it won't affect the bikes. It will affect you more than them. Altitude dehydrates you.
As for Yellowstone, some great riding there. Monitor the Park Service website for road closures. They close roads/gates regularly for a variety of reasons. This could mean a significant detour of hundreds of miles, if you're on the wrong side. Cooke City entrance is almost always open. But a lot of people doing the Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge like to split off and head to Cody. It's a fun town, and if you're new to the west, go check out the nightly rodeo.
Inside the Park, you really can't go wrong. Coming from Cooke City, I'd suggest going through the Lamar Valley to Tower, then head south over the high road--lots of grizzly in there--to Canyon. Keep going south through the Hayden Valley, then around to the west towards West Thumb. Here you can go south to the Grand Tetons (an hour away) or further on to Old Faithful and the Firehole River. The road between West Thumb and Old Faithful crosses the Divide three times. Depending on where you want to go after the Park, you could continue to Madison Junction and out to West Yellowstone, a little tourist trap, but then on to Ennis, etc., along the Madison River...or keep looping north in the Park to Mammoth and out through Gardiner and up Paradise Valley along the yellowstone River all the way to Livingston.
Traffic in Yellowstone will be slow, especially in the summer. There are frequent traffic jams because Bo and Mabel from Tallahassee just saw their first elk and couldn't pull over the RV and trailer on those skinny roads. Plan for a whole day to do the Park, whatever your route.
PM if you have any questions. It's the best road trip in America! Good luck!
All good advice for the Beartooth Highway. In sum....just take it easy. It will be cold up there and may rain/snow. Be prepared. As for altitude....like itileman said, it won't affect the bikes. It will affect you more than them. Altitude dehydrates you.
As for Yellowstone, some great riding there. Monitor the Park Service website for road closures. They close roads/gates regularly for a variety of reasons. This could mean a significant detour of hundreds of miles, if you're on the wrong side. Cooke City entrance is almost always open. But a lot of people doing the Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge like to split off and head to Cody. It's a fun town, and if you're new to the west, go check out the nightly rodeo.
Inside the Park, you really can't go wrong. Coming from Cooke City, I'd suggest going through the Lamar Valley to Tower, then head south over the high road--lots of grizzly in there--to Canyon. Keep going south through the Hayden Valley, then around to the west towards West Thumb. Here you can go south to the Grand Tetons (an hour away) or further on to Old Faithful and the Firehole River. The road between West Thumb and Old Faithful crosses the Divide three times. Depending on where you want to go after the Park, you could continue to Madison Junction and out to West Yellowstone, a little tourist trap, but then on to Ennis, etc., along the Madison River...or keep looping north in the Park to Mammoth and out through Gardiner and up Paradise Valley along the yellowstone River all the way to Livingston.
Traffic in Yellowstone will be slow, especially in the summer. There are frequent traffic jams because Bo and Mabel from Tallahassee just saw their first elk and couldn't pull over the RV and trailer on those skinny roads. Plan for a whole day to do the Park, whatever your route.
PM if you have any questions. It's the best road trip in America! Good luck!
Thread Starter
|
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 128
Likes: 0
From: Minot, ND
RE: Beartooth Mtns - Yellowstone
Thanks for all the input! I'm planning on going at the end of June and into July for about a week. I have a hotel (the Best Western in Gardiner) for my "base camp." I'm hoping to take in the Chief Joseph Highway (thanks for the tip, mikey) and the regular Yellowstone sights in my short time around the park.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
