Cycle through Yellowstone

I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips from a single camp site. Any
suggestions?

 

Mind dem baars

 

"Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
from
> a single camp site. Any suggestions?
>
>

tourists, tourist buses, ya woo's, ......... I mean this is one ugly tourist trap.

Go to a national forest. There are plenty of them, no tourists, and you might actually see
real wildlife.

 

>From: "Shade" [email protected]

>I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips from a single camp site. Any
>suggestions?

It really depends on what you want to see. If you'd like to be near the lake, Grant or Bridge Bay
are the only places (Unless you have a hard sided RV in which case you can stay at Fishing Bridge.
These are all big and noisy. If you want to be closer to Old Faithful and the geysers, you'll stay
at Madison (no camping at Old Faithful). Canyon campground is near the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone. Again, these are big and noisy. In the north there is Tower CG which is small and near
Roosevelt Lodge. Further out the Lamar valley is Slough Creek and Pebble Creek. Don't choose Slough
if you have a road bike; long ride on a bad gravel road. Near the Mamoth area is Mamoth CG an the
smaller Indian Creek. I really would not recommend biking in Yellowstone during the tourist season.
The time to go is after they close the roads to snowmobiles (now) and befor the opening of the roads
to autos (end of April). I'm planning a few rides there as soon as they get some roads clear of snow
(I live in Bozeman MT, abou 90 mins. from the north entrance).

George F. Johnson

 

"Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
from
> a single camp site. Any suggestions?

What's your day trip range? Back when I worked there I used to cycle completely around the park on
my days off, following the figure made by the roads around the park.

I recall the southern part of the park as being a somewhat more scenic area. Grant Village has a
campground, I think, is situated right on Lake Yellowstone, and is (or was) not quite as overrun
with crowds as Old Faithful or Mammoth Terraces. Forget Old Faithful (definitely a tourist trap) and
wander through the less frequented parts of the geyser basin.

HTH
--
mark

 

>From: [email protected] (George F. Johnson)

>The time to go is after they close the roads to snowmobiles (now) and befor the opening of the
>roads to autos (end of April).

I forgot to mention, the only CG open now is Mammoth and you'd better check to be sure.

George F. Johnson

 

Years ago we did a nice loop from West Yellowstone twice across the continental divide. West on US
20 (decent climb and descent), north on Idaho 87(easy climb and descent), east on US 287 (short
hills along Madison River, tedious), then South back to West Yellowstone (easy flat) about 60
miles total.

On Sat, 22 Mar 2003 15:14:31 GMT, "mark" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
>from
>> a single camp site. Any suggestions?
>
>What's your day trip range? Back when I worked there I used to cycle completely around the park on
>my days off, following the figure made by the roads around the park.
>
>I recall the southern part of the park as being a somewhat more scenic area. Grant Village has a
>campground, I think, is situated right on Lake Yellowstone, and is (or was) not quite as overrun
>with crowds as Old Faithful or Mammoth Terraces. Forget Old Faithful (definitely a tourist trap)
>and wander through the less frequented parts of the geyser basin.
>
>HTH

 

Enjoying much variety from a single camp is challenging, as any camp would offer maybe 2 or 3 rides
max without repeating yourself. I would suggest moving camp at least once, as each part of the park
is different.

Basing at Madison would provide access to all of the main geyser areas (Norris, Old Faithful,
Midway, Biscuit, etc), plus a 3rd ride along the Madison River.

From Grant Village you could tour Lake Yellowstone, the southern reaches and also Old Faithful.

From Norris, you could hit the Grand Canyon, Norris geysers and Mammoth.

From Mammoth you could reach Norris, Tower Falls and north out of the park.

From Tower Junction, you can reach Mammoth, Grand Canyon and Lamar Valley.

To pick only two . . Tower Junction and Grant Village . . . will give you a taste of all the
major areas.

Of course all of these suggestions assume you are looking for / capable of 35 to 55 mile "daytrips"
in mountainous terrain. Best time of year June, September & October . . . avoid July & early August
waayyy too much traffic.

On Sat, 22 Mar 2003 01:13:47 -0600, "Shade" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips from a single camp site. Any
>suggestions?

 

On Sat, 22 Mar 2003 08:06:40 -0000 in rec.bicycles.rides, "Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Mind dem baars
>
no worse than the sardinian mafia, i'm sure...

 

"Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
from
> a single camp site. Any suggestions?

Make sure you get a map that shows the park backroads, the main roads are narrow, with lots of
traffic. Why wouldn't you want to move site to site there might not be a lot of loop routes. The
GMBR rote passes just outside the park

 

>From: "Trailgalore" [email protected]

>Make sure you get a map that shows the park backroads, the main roads are narrow, with lots
>of traffic.

There are no back roads, at least none of consequence for bicycling. With few exceptions,
Yellowstone is off limits to bicycling on other than the park loop roads. The NPS actively
discourages cycling in Yellowstone (a regretable circumstance) while encouraging "scenic driving".
If you want to ride in the park, you'll have to put up with the traffic or go in the "off season".
Note that I am addressing the serious cyclist; If you only want to bike a few easy miles, there are
a few "trails" open to bikes. I have not biked them. Please see the nps.gov web site for
information.

George F. Johnson

 

Shade wrote:

> I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips from a single camp site.
> Any suggestions?

http://www.cycletourist.com/Yellowstone.html

Yellowstone is one of the most magnificent sites in the US. Bicycling is nowhere near as bad as some
claim. I rather enjoyed it, myself. And what a way to see all that geothermal surrealism.

--
**********************************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Tolerance is recognizing that other people
have different ideals and needs than you. Compromise is acting on that knowledge.
***********************************************************

 

In a previous post I suggested riding in Yellowstone between now and the end of April because the
roads are now closed to cars but open to bicycles. I should have warned that anyone traveling any
distance to get here should check weather and road conditions with the NPS before hand. Spring
weather here is rather capricious. Yesterday it was in the 60's; today I woke to several inches
of wet snow.

George F. Johnson

 

"TomCAt" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
> from
> > a single camp site. Any suggestions?
> >
> >
>

> tourists, tourist buses, ya woo's, ......... I mean this is one ugly tourist trap.
>
> Go to a national forest. There are plenty of them, no tourists, and you might actually see real
> wildlife.
>

I have to agree with this advice. I went to Yellowstone a few years ago and was horribly
disappointed. Geysers? Big deal. Bubbling steamy rocks? So what. There are WAY WAY WAY WAY too many
RVs on the roads to cycle there - it's suicide if you ask me. Plus the scenery isn't really all that
spectactular. On my trip, I spent one day in Yellowstone and then spent the rest of the week back
down in the Tetons - much more beautiful, and much less crowded.

-Patrick

 

"Patrick W." wrote:

> "TomCAt" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "Shade" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > I am planning on a trip to Yellowstone and would like to make daytrips
> > from
> > > a single camp site. Any suggestions?
> > >
> > >
> >

> > tourists, tourist buses, ya woo's, ......... I mean this is one ugly tourist trap.
> >
> > Go to a national forest. There are plenty of them, no tourists, and you might actually see real
> > wildlife.
> >
>
> I have to agree with this advice. I went to Yellowstone a few years ago and was horribly
> disappointed. Geysers? Big deal. Bubbling steamy rocks? So what. There are WAY WAY WAY WAY too
> many RVs on the roads to cycle there - it's suicide if you ask me. Plus the scenery isn't really
> all that spectactular. On my trip, I spent one day in Yellowstone and then spent the rest of the
> week back down in the Tetons - much more beautiful, and much less crowded.
>
> -Patrick

And a few years ago I was in Yellowstone and awed by the geothermal landscape. It is amazing! RV's?
I did most of my riding before noon and hardly noticed.

YMMV.

--
**********************************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO http://www.CycleTourist.com Tolerance is recognizing that other people
have different ideals and needs than you. Compromise is acting on that knowledge.
***********************************************************