Originally Posted by faber

Two weeks in Montana? That's a lot, even for me, and I live here. If you have two weeks just for MT, I'd suggest heading up to Alberta, at least to Banff/Lake Louise.

So, from Spokane, here's what I'd suggest....

--I-90 east into Idaho. At Coeur d'Alene, take US 95 north. At Sandpoint, it will turn into US 2. (You will be on this road a lot.) Take US 2 all the way to Whitefish (well, it gets you to within 5 miles of Whitefish--follow the signs). Spend the night, fun town. If you want more riding in that day, take MT 37 at Libby up along the lake until you hit US 93, then back into Whitefish.

--next day, do Glacier NP. If you want to work a few days in Alberta, then head north on US 89 when you exit GNP. Take the split off to MT 17 and go towards Waterton Glacier NP (the Canadian side of GNP). That road turns into Rt 6 in Alberta. Take that to Rt 3, go west for a bit and pick up Rt 22 north. That gets you into the mountains quicker. There is a road that splits off called _____ Trail (can't remember) that is *really* scenic and takes you into Canmore. Banff is just down the road from Canmore. Spend the night there. Or push on to Lake Louise. Both are gorgeous spots.

--(If you really want, take Rt 93 all the way up to Jasper. )

--Coming back from Banff, I just take the TC 1 into Calgary and Rt 2 all the way down to Montana. It will turn into US 89. Take that to US 2 and head west. Stop at the Goat Lick on US 2 on the southern edge of GNP. At Kalispell, head south on US 93 into the Flathead Valley and around Flathead Lake. *Very* scenic ride through here. Spend the night in WHitefish, Kalispell, or Lakeside (good brewpub in Lakeside).

--Continue south on US 93 through the Flathead Valley. Enjoy the views of the Mission Mountains on your left as you get past Polson, on the Flathead Res. US 93 will take you into Missoula (HD dealer there, if you stop at those). Missoula is a fun town with lots of cool places to eat. So eat. But then continue south on US 93 into the Bitterroot. I'd suggest spending the night in Hamilton (another great brewpub).

--Continue south on US 93 deeper into the Bitterroot. At Lost Trail Pass, on the Idaho border (and the Continental Divide), head east on MT 43 towards Wisdom. Check out the Big Hole Battlefield. Once you hit that, you are in the Big Hole. Nice riding through here. Tourists seldom make it into this part of Montana, unless they are fly fishermen. At Wisdom, take a pic of the sign at Conover's, then head north into the Big Hole along MT 43. At Wise River, take the road south into the Pioneer Mountains. Awesome ride. Stop and dig up some gems, if you want (you'll see). Then you come out on MT 278 on the other end of the Big Hole. Take the side trip to Bannack, a ghost town and Montana's first territorial capital. Continue to I-15, head north a couple of miles until you hit Dillon. If you're tired, Dillon is a decent place to spend the night. If not, push on to Ennis.

--From Dillon, take MT 41 to Twin Bridges, stop along the way to check out the Beaverhead (Lewis & Clark site). At Twin Bridges, take MT 287 to Alder Gulch and Virginia City. Virginia City is a "restored" ghost town. Lots of hitory here. Google it. Fun place to get a bite. Then head down to Ennis, in the Madison Valley. Ennis is a good place to spend the night and get a good steak dinner.

--From Ennis, take US 287 south towards West Yellowstone. Nice ride along Quake Lake and Lake Hebgen. Enter Yellowstone National Park at West Yellowstone. At Madison Junction, head south towards Old Faithful. Don;t stop at anything yet, except Old Faithful. Then work back up, stopping at Mid Geyser Basin and whatever else looks cool. Continue through Madison Jct, see Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs, and exit the Park at Gardiner. Take US 89 north into Paradise Valley. Another classic ride. Spend the night at Chico Hot Springs, if you can. *Awesome* place to eat, soak, and drink Or press on to Livingston. Some great steakhouses in Livingston, too.

--If you like high plains riding, you can take US 89 north out of Livingston towards White Sulphur Springs over the mountains and pick up US 87 east to Lewistown. Tourists never get up here. This is real small town Montana. You'll see lots of antelope and the occasional nuclear missile silo. From Lewistown, head south US 191 to Big Timber (where Tom Brokaw lives) and pick up I-90 east. Get off at Columbus and take MT 78 to Absarokee (****. "ab-ZOR-kee") and to US 212, which you take south (right) into Red Lodge. This is a fun little town. Great local brewery and many good restaurants and a real fun bar (Snow Creek Saloon). Spend the night.

EDIT: forgot you needed to go to Helena. So on US 89, just south of WHite Sulphur, take US 12 west to Townshend, then US 287 north. Takes you right into Helena. WHen leaving Helena, take I-15 north along the Missouri River through the Big Belt MOuntains, to Great Falls (maybe see the Sip-N-Dip, the last mermaid bar in the west--google it). Then take US 87 south/east
to Lewistown. Continue as above.

--Next day, do the Beartooth Hwy all the way to Cooke City, re-enter YNP (your ticket is still good--save it). Go through the Lamar Valley, and head south at Tower Junction towards Canyon. Stop at all the views. Continue south through the Hayden Valley, ride around Yellowstone Lake towards West Thumb. See the small but unusual geyser basin. Then head south towards Grand Teton NP. If you can, I strongly recommend staying in one of the GTNP lodges, for the amazing views. I took my wife to the Jackson Lake Lodge for our anniversary. We loved it. But, we also camp at the first campground on the northern end of the lake. Forget name, but nice.

--You might as well go into Jackson and spend lots of money for the privilege. No, you won't see any of the movie stars. Han Solo never comes to town. Take WY 22 over Teton Pass (an amazing ride) back into Idaho. You can pick up US 26 and go to Craters of the Moon. And then just work back west however you need.

Of course, if you fish, double the times above. Lots of seriously good trout fishing all along that route.

Ask if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by sinanimal

Wow! Thanks for all the information. Our destination begins in in santa rosa ca, so we don't have two weeks just in Montana. It's about 1200 miles, so we figure it will take us a few days. Were not really in a hurry. I'm not much a fisherman although we are staying on the missouri river and will have plenty of time for that. I'm excited to just ride.