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Yellowstone advice

V-lust

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Granmaw and I are headed for Cody, Wyoming for our annual pilgrimage to the Cessna 170 Convention. Taking the toyhauler and the bikes and wondering if anyone has any wisdom to impart. Roads that must be ridden and sights that must be seen. I have the Butler map thanks to Mr2mch. Most of the touristy things in Cody are built into the convention schedule so I’m really wondering about riding in Yellowstone, Grand Teton NP, and beartooth hwy. Only camping reservation I have is in Cody from Saturday to Saturday. Thanks! Last time I was in Yellowstone was about 50 years ago so not much memory to go on:giveup:
 
Stop in Ten Sleep on the way to Yellowstone and say hi to Justin at the Ten Sleep brewery. He's a former Austinite, dirt bike rider, and generally good dude. And the beer is excellent. He is Coolhand on TWT, but doesn't check in too often anymore.

Northern part of the park has more interesting roads and are a wee bit less traveled. Heading out to the NE you can ride the Beartooth Highway towards Red Lodge, excellent riding and good views.
 
There will be lots of traffic/people in the park. If you are not in a hurry that will be fine as the scenery will be great as always. Watch out for poor driving as everyone is a tourist.
 
I hit the southwest gate at day break when I went thru there , was headed out west by noon and traffic was a cf coming into the park . Heading that way again last two weeks of August and will do it the same way .
 
Haven't been in a few years but i would say traffic in the park would make the bikes no fun. Great visit though.
 
Beartooth and Chief Joseph Highway are GREAT roads. You can do a nice loop out of Cody and catch them both.

https://goo.gl/maps/6i9a37LvfAm

A bit of warning....it can be very cold at the top of Beartooth. It's not uncommon for them to still be renting snowmobiles at the top in June. The roads are also obviously twisty mountain roads so if you or your co-rider are worried about heights, it may be something you need to research a bit more.

Assuming you're ok with a bit of cold and high twisty, it's a breathtakingly beautiful ride and the road is a lot of fun as well.

You can go left where Chief Joseph meets Beartooth and there's a little town there called Cooke-City / Silver Gate. If you keep going, you'll end up in Yellowstone.

I've ridden through Yellowstone twice now and it's not bad, but it's really slow going and I believe the best part of Yellowstone isn't on the bike but hiking off the road a bit and seeing stuff. I wear full gear, so stopping and looking at stuff every few miles gets to be tedious. I've decided that I'd like to go back and do Yellowstone with a rental car and hiking boots the next time.

So...it's worth riding through, just expect to be in a fair amount of traffic and you'll have to stop and walk a bit to see the best stuff. And...as others have mentioned, the traffic builds in the day and on the weekends so early morning mid week is your best bet to minimize the traffic.

Grand Tetons are beautiful by bike. Traffic isn't too bad except for the easiest way there from Cody is going through the SE corner of Yellowstone. It would be a fairly long ride from Cody to Grand Tetons and back in a day. The miles aren't that much, but it will take quite a few hours. Jackson, WY is a neat town if you want to do an overnight but it's VERY expensive to get a hotel there. I think I paid $190 a night for a Motel 6 room one year. Completely nuts. :)

Anyway....hope this helps. Definitely take the bike as the area is beautiful to ride in.
 
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yellowstone huh? so how was Europe? we did the Arkansas and Oklahoma trip and had a great time. (HOT)
anyway, enjoy the trip.
 
Just got back from the Jackson Hole, Grand Teton area, and Yellowstone. Was not on the bike but it is a nice scenic area with great roads. Be careful in Yellowstone, whenever the tourists see a bison or some other animal, they will stop in the middle of the road to hop out and take a picture. Just stay sharp, and you will enjoy the scenery. A sidenote, the day before I went thru there, a lady got gored by a bison that she was trying to pose next to.....
The road from Alpine to Jackson is a nice twisty road, if you get down that way.

Don
 
Stop in Ten Sleep on the way to Yellowstone and say hi to Justin at the Ten Sleep brewery. He's a former Austinite, dirt bike rider, and generally good dude. And the beer is excellent. He is Coolhand on TWT, but doesn't check in too often anymore.
Ten Sleep is on my radar but it will be on the bike. I use the Butler map in reverse when pulling the camper avoiding the red and gold on the Butler while herding 8 wheels. I remember your pics from ten sleep a few years ago and thinking I might not want to go there pulling the camper:eek2:
 
I also agree that touring Yellowstone is best done in a cage. We were stopped in traffic as a bison was walking past us, and I would not have wanted to be on my bike at that moment. Traffic can be an absolute nightmare if there are a lot of critters out and about as EVERYONE stops to take photos.

Jackson, WY is a neat town if you want to do an overnight but it's VERY expensive to get a hotel there.
Teton County which contains Jackson is the highest average income county in the entire country.
 
Paul....we stayed in Greybull last Summer on our trip....rooms were much less than in Cody (but I wouldnt recommend the same motel we used) there was a very good restaurant we ate at a couple of times... Lisas Western Cuisine & Spirits. The Uptown Cafe was our breakfast spot...but it paled in comparison to Donnas Main St Diner in Newcastle WY...motel there was good too
The roads from Lovell & Greybull to Ranchester /Sheridan are fun too
Up in the snow on Beartooth....theres a gravel scenic pullout with a post covered in stickers....Guess whoz is near the top??
I think its near the little store (Top of the World Resort) coming down to Chief Joseph cutoff. Oh..&.lots of traffic on Beartooth when we were there in July
Wind River Canyon was pretty cool too...south of Thermopolis...to Shoshoni
We came south thru Rock Springs & Dutch John into UT...or mabe it was Manila
Anyway...nice roads to Vernal for the nite

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Stop in Ten Sleep on the way to Yellowstone and say hi to Justin at the Ten Sleep brewery. He's a former Austinite, dirt bike rider, and generally good dude. And the beer is excellent. He is Coolhand on TWT, but doesn't check in too often anymore.

I will be going through or camping in ten sleep in about 6 weeks, I will stop in and say hi to Justin.


Vlust in Cody eat at Fat Rack BBQ, they are from Fort Worth, good friends of mine. Michael the big guy is the owner and cook. tell them Kevin from Ft. Worth sent you. Excellent BBQ!!






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Beartooth Hwy. And Chief Joseph Hwy. are MUST DOs. Pass on Yellowstone that time of year it is a Zoo. A zoo with lots of Tourist with tourist brain, or lack of.... The road from E. Yellowstone to Cody is also spectacular but can be busy. Thermopolis has a great hot spring, if it is not too hot. Which in summer it can be.
 
Some riders got trapped by snow at Beartooth pass yesterday and had to be taken out by truck. You just never know.
 
Beartooth Pass is not to be missed!

20150807_143656_HDR-L.jpg


Some other routes in the general area are here.
 
Make your way over to Mt Rushmore by way of the Crazy Horse Monument.
Pictures dont do those justice at all.
Stay in Custer SD at hotel or at state park just outside of town.
Good place to spend a few days as home base.

?


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The trip is done and it was GREAT! I took most of the advice given and you were all correct. The two days in Yellowstone were done in the truck due largely to weather(cold and wet) but glad we did it that way. The area around Old Faithful was the only really bad crowd we encountered, selfie sticks flying in all directions...glad to get away from there with both eyes intact. Second day in the park we drove down to Jackson Hole which reminded me of Fredricksburg on a holiday Saturday. Had two beautiful days to ride Chief Joesph and Beartooth. Went to Red Lodge one day and Cooke city down into Yellowstone the next. Kevin, I did have ribs @ Fat Rack BBQ and told Big Mike you sent me...nice guy and excellent ribs. Camped in Ten Sleep the first night on the way home, but missed Justin @ the brewery. Pulled the camper over the pass to Buffalo and it wasn’t fun but I rode it the evening before so I knew what to expect:eek2: stumbled onto an excellent motorcycle museum in St. Francis,KS and a huge collection of mostly light aircraft in Liberal,KS. Locals in Cody told me the worst of the rush happens after July 4th and with the exception of Old Faithful and Jackson Hole crowds weren’t too bad.
 
Did someone say Beartooth Pass? Do it!
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Af for Jellystone, be mindful if on two wheels of the bison. Just stay on your toes, don't get off the bike and always have an out/be prepared.
 
Wind-river Canyon is also very beautiful

I bet you're right Dutch. I was pulling the camper in a rainstorm when I went thru there. My wife kept telling me how beautiful it was as I looked straight ahead over my white knuckles.:lol2:
 
How is the weather after Labor day? Thinking the off season would be the time to go, less tourists, motels cheaper?
 
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