So we are in Utah, and plan on riding up from Utah thru Idaho to west yellowstone as our first overnight stop. Anyone with suggestions on Lodging. We prefer to stay at a place that we can park the bikes in front of the room, no indoor hallways. Pool or hot tub if possible.

from there we will go to the North rim, up beartooth to red lodge, and then down again to Cody, any suggestions there?

We are planning to spend some time in Cody as it sounds pretty cool there, then end up in Jackson Hole that next night. then down to Rock Springs,WY ( we always stay at the Quality Inn off the interstate across the freeway from the dealership. Nice rooms, nice pool/spa, GREAT free happy hour, and good rates.

Then over flaming gorge, thru vernal and home.

 

No suggestion on lodging..............but on the weather. I think they have snow already!

 

I'm going to have to dig through some recepts for the name but,

We stayed in a hotel 1 block north and a few blocks west of the entrance to Yellowstone in West Yellow stone that was perfect.

Locked,underground parking for bikes,downtown with lots of great places to eat whithin walking distance,but all of the rooms were accessed from inside the hotel.

Pretty nice place for $100 + or minus.

Now if I can just remember the name

 

I highly recommend The Yodeler Motel in Red Lodge. Owned by motorheads...very nice people! You can park right outside your door and there's a big hot tub in the back. They give out bike rags, too!

 

If you're going now.....the Park is closed to road traffic until spring. (The northern road from Gardiner to Cooke City is open all year, but they don't maintain the others.) And the Beartooth Hwy is closed until Memorial Day--maybe.

West Yellowstone is a pretty crummy place, IMO. Stay in Ennis, MT. You could get there by moving past West and taking a left towards Hebgen Lake and keep going....or by taking I-15 to Dillon, MT, heading NE to Twin Bridges, past the Beaverhead Rock, then E over to Virginia City, stay in Ennis. Virginia City is a preserved "old west" town--a former capital of the Montana Terriotory, site of a gold rush, and western vigilante justice (google the history).

From Ennis, the Park is a nice quick little ride along the upper Madison River. Ennis is in a very scenic spot, in the Madison Valley, flanked by the Tobacco Root Mountains and the Madison Range. West is in the woods--no views. But there is tourist schlock galore (taffy shops, IMAX, schitty food made by meth addicts......) I know many former parkies that grow up, straighten up, move to Bozeman or Livingston and try to get respectable. Oh, man........no WAY wold I ever eat anything made in West!

Cody is fun. I like the Big Bear. If you're there in the summer, go to the Nite Rodeo. It's PRCA--good rodeo. The museum is impressive.

Jackson is super expensive, but tourists like to have a beer at the Million (barstools are saddles--but you may have to wait in line for one in the summer). Tourists also like the antler arch. But, you can be sure that you will NOT see Harrison Ford (a local) but you will pay what he pays in town--expensive! You might as well stay at one of the lodges in GTNP, e.g. Jackson Lake Lodge, Colet Bay Resort, Jenny Lake Lodge, and get the view. I kinda like Jackson Lake Lodge. Somethin' about sitting on that massive deck and drinking your scotch while looking at the Tetons and spotting the occasional moose.

If Red Lodge is in your plans, the Yodeler is one of the better places, as mentioned above. Red Lodge is a fun, fun, fun little town. Great local brewery! Gotta try some Red Lodge Ale and the Creek! Best bar in RL. Watch out--it can get crazy at the Creek!!! There also is a great little old fashioned toy shop--all wooden handmade toys. Wives love it.

If you have any other questions about the area, just ask. I live in Bozeman--the Park is my backyard.

 

For whatever it's worth,I found it!

http://www.yellowstoneinn.com/index.html

Faber is a local so you may wish to follow his advice.

 

We are planing on going in July of 2010? How is the weather then.

 

We went through West Yellowstone this year in late July. It was around 75 at 11:00 am entering the park. The day abounded in thunderstorms and vast temperature differences. When we got to West Thumb just a few hours later, the temp was in the upper 50's with some small hail mixed in! A few more hours south into the Grand Tetons we had sun brekas and temps back around 80 or so. Just be prepared for all kinds of weather and have those rain suits. Faber, as a local, has some great advice. We stayed in Ennis, MT the night before...a very nice stay. Check out the Flying Saddle Lodge south of Jackson about 35 miles at Alpine Jct. Wyoming. Had a great room with full b-fast for a little more than $100. You will pay more than double that at any place in Jackson. Enjoy your planning!

 

The worse part of the Yellowstone area is the seasonal road construction in and all around the park area. Can be very rough for a bike and sometimes they close the east entrance early, so plan accordingly. This past summer, the road from Moran Junction to Riverton, Wyoming had 12 miles of the roughest stuff I've ever ridden on. The crew said there were many bikes that went down especially when it was raining and the dirt turned to mud. Nice area but Jackson is crowded with tourists and traffic and it doesn't seem to biker friendly. Good luck and do your homework and have a good time.

 

The construction is a pain but not a deal breaker.
Keep your speed up enough to have good balance but not to fast to deal with the bumps and ruts.
20-25mph worked for me with a passenger and luggage(high center of gravity).

I could have ran wide open on a dirt bike!

We went in the middle of August and the weather was perfect!
I watched the weather for a couple of weeks before we went and I think it quit raining the day before we got there!

The water trucks still made sure that the dirt was a bit muddy but it was only the top 1/2" or so. The road was solid underneath so you won't sink and high center!!

A trip to the car wash was in order afterwords but I like a clean bike.

To average it out,I think we hit 20-30 miles of construction and 300+ miles of pavement in the park.Not a bad average considering the fantastic scenery and good times we had!