Touring - Tetons and Yellowstone

Hello,

We're thinking of going on a 4-5 day tour in the Yellowstone Nat'l Park / Jackson Hole / Grand Tetons area. Have any of you members been? If so, did you do a guided tour? solo tour?

Thanks for reading,

Some friends and myself were on a bmx trip, and went from Jackson Hole up through Yellowstone. It was one of the most fantastic things I've seen in my life. All of the landmarks are really well marked, and there is a ton of unmarked things to see. We toured things at our own pace and without a guide. I wouldn't worry about trying to find things, and each place is marked really well and has lots of information and there is always other people or guides or rangers around.

2 things of concern, I suppose, would be all of the Buffalo. They're always on the roads, and they're huge. And fast. That might be a problem touring. Also, Old Faithful is definitely a let down. If you're looking at it from a scaled perspective.

My family has a cabin in Island Park and I've been dying to ride through Yellowstone for quite some time now. The climbs are numerous so I suppose unsupported touring would severely limit the distance you could cover. Reservations would also be essential since most campgrounds fill up by 11AM this time of year and you need to make them well in advance. I'd be suprised if I could still make a campground reservation for any days between now and September(?).

What sort of route are you taking? I've scoped out several over the years including north from Jackson, around through Gardiner and out the west entrance through West Yellowstone and south through Warm River, Ashton, Driggs, Victor, etc. and back to Jackson. Unless you're in better shape than I am, getting from Jackson to Gardiner and back would probably take 6-7 days [edit: loaded].

I can vouch for the buffalo problem. When I last drove though the park we were caught in a "Buffalo Jam" for almost an hour. There was a supported tour passing us as we were heading south towards the Midway Geyser Basin and they got caught not wanting to try and manuever through the herd too. You also need to be familiar with the precautions necessary for camping in bear country.

Yeah, I've solo toured there 2ce. It's fine. You do have to camp in established campgrounds with bear-proof containers. The traffic is awful & terrifying - don't do it on holiday (or weekend if you can help it).

It's hilly but not that steep. No problem on a fully loaded tour bike. Be prepared for any weather - I got snowed on in August the second time. A couple of the campgrounds have official "hiker/biker" sites which are cheaper and nicer than the regular tent sites. Grand Lake has an official one for sure, and they will figure out a way to squeeze you in if you show up on a bike.

The animals are slightly scary (I passed right by a bear), but if you don't try to get close to them, they pretty much leave you alone. If there was a whole heard of buffalo on the road I would turn around and hang out until they went away.

There's a really nice hiker/biker site at Jenny Lake. It's much more relaxing and nature-y in the Tetons, Yellowstone has a lot of really weird geological stuff, and waaay too many cars & people. But if you go away from the road a little (hike) the people thin out. The animals there are super cool. We even saw a wolf.

:)

Part of the original Transcontinental Route put out by the Adventure Cycling People goes through those two parks. Consider buying just that section of their guide books/maps.

high,
I just returned from a crosscountry that passed through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Parks. I was solo without a guide. A quick summary would be that it is a busy time right now and the roads in Yellowstone are mostly without shoulders to ride on. You will be sharing the road with a constant stream of RVs. The good news is that the speed limit is 45 and many of the drivers adhere to that speed.

Coulter Bay is a nice area, Old Faithful is a tourist magnet. If you would like any more specific information that I might be able to share please email me.
lighthorse

I worked in Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks in the late '80s and early '90s. I used to cycle the "Grand Loop", tracing a figure 8 around Yellowstone Park. There's a lot of really neat scenery, but the roads were narrow, shoulderless and rough back then. The RV drivers were pretty scary, a lot of them are renting those things and don't have much experience driving big vehicles. A lot of them have some pretty backward attitudes towards cyclists, too. I managed to have a good time on my bike in spite of those obstacles, though.

The bison can be a problem at times, like a few people said. A couple times I would ask a motorist if I could just motorpace their car through the herd. Bison can't see well and they aren't very bright, so they thought that the car and my bicycle were just one big car and left us alone.

The Old Faithful area is indeed a tourist trap, but try to wander off to the less visited geysers, it's a lot of fun watching them go off at random.

Try to make some time to go hiking in Grand Teton Park, that's the best way to experience that area. Amphitheatre Lake and Paintbrush Canyon are two really pretty places to hike. If you're really feeling ambitious spend a full day (a really full day) hiking up Paintbrush Canyon and down Cascade Canyon.

HTH,
mark