I posted this in the Rides forum but only one person helped me and it wasn't any help so here it is;My road crew and I were planning to make teh Sturgis area in mid to late Aug (after the Rally) but due to commitments beyond our control we can't leave until after Sept 20th. Here is our itinerary: Day 1; leave Clt NC to St Jo Mo. (Iron Butt). Day 2 St Jo to Badlands. Day 3; Badlands to Ellsworth AFB. Day 4; Devils Tower, Spearfish Hwy, Deadwood. Day 5; Custer SP (most roads), Crazy Horse Monument. Day 6; Hill City, Sylvan Lake, Custer, Iron Mnt. Road, Mt Rushmore (day and night viewing), Deadwood. Day 7; Ellsworth AFB to Battle of Little Bighorn, Billings Mt., Red Lodge Mt. Day 8; Red Lodge up over Beartooth Hwy to Northeast entrance of Yellowstone NP (staying in Mammoth CG). Day 9 & 10; Yellowstone and Jacson Hole Wy. Day 11; Jackson Hole to Cheyenne Wy. Day 12; Cheyenne Wy to RMNP and Denver Co. Day 13; Denver to Kansas City. Day 14; Kansas City to Nashville Tn. Day 15; Nashville to Clt NC. I am most concerned with Yellowstone and RMNP but any help and advice is appreciated. Thanx.
Of course my spelling sucks and the heading says Srurgis

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https://www.hdforums.com/forum/road-...s-in-sept.html

 

So whats your concern? The weather? I can definitely tell you the weather in eastern Colorado, western Nebraska, and western Kansas can be very unpredictible that time of year. It could be sunny and 90 or snowing and 30 with horrible wind gusts. The worst part of that trip will be I 70 between Denver and Kansas City if thats your route. That is one boring *** ride.

 

Might want to check on the Beartooth. It could be closed by then.

Zach

 

So it appears that it will be October passing thru RMNP (ok the park itself is open) what road you take may not be passable.... I would call the RMNP and ask for average road closing dates. I think you may be to late to pass through that area again depending on the actual road you are taking... nice route tho!
http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

 

If you have time when you are in St. Joe Missouri you should eat at Bandana's BBQ. Their ribs are amazing. And of course when you come through KC we have the best BBQ in the country. Have a great trip and be safe, sounds like fun. We will be doing South Dakota the week before the rally, cant wait.

 

Agree nice trip but you could surely run into bad road conditions on the western leg after leaving SD. In St Jo Beadreaux's downtown has really good Cajun food also plenty of food on the Belt Highway. If you want BBQ stop at Amarillo's in Belleview NE(Suburb of Omaha)

 

I've been in Yellowstone several times in Sept.... Great time of year... School has started so there are no "families" there... The Elk are in rut... the park staff are preparing for the winter season so some faculties are closed or are about to be closed...

The only drawback is the SNOW... It has snowed every time I've been there in Sept.

The weather will be turning in Sept... be careful....

 

I would venture to say that at least 25% OF THE STATES CLAIM THE BEST BBQ. Pork or beef although myself prefer pork

As far as your ride, God did some of his best work out there in the west. Bryce Canyon, Mount Zion, Red Rock Canyon, Mount Charleston just to name a few.

Take your time, enjoy the ride and take in all that God has given us.

Safe journey and when you leave be sure to let us know so I may say a prayer for your safety!!!

 

Those dates you're going to want heated gear for the mornings and high altitudes, and some seriously good rain gear. Hopefully all will go well, but I've rolled through Cody, WY and East Yellowstone to West Yellowstone in early August and it's been in the high 20's in the a.m. So you can plan ahead that it's going to get nippy out west during that time of year. There's been other years that we can ride well into November and take that Thanksgiving ride, so there can be some drastic differences. I will tell you it can get seriously cold in the Yellowstone, Cody, WY, and Jackson Hole areas very early. Hope that helps in your planning. PM if you need more info.

 

Vanman,
You will be able to visit the Black Hills, though you should be aware that the weather 'will' be changing, so definitely pack for temps from 85F to 0F. I was up in the Black Hills over Labor Day Weekend 2009 and the colors were spectacular!

I would suggest you put Devil's Tower on Day 7...You might consider collapsing Days 4, 5 & 6 into two days, which should be plenty of time...IMO

Jackson, Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park will be a tight squeeze and you may or may not make it into the park...It might be prudent to go all the way out to West Yellowstone first and work your way back, so that you ensure you make it into Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP and Jackson before the weather really gets ugly...by doing this first then work your way to the Black Hills, you'll ensure that you've hit the hardest to make (Yellowstone).

If this trip does pan out...PM me and I can meet up with your crew somewhere (I live in Brighton, NE of Denver).