Touring - Travelling Through the US

Back in October 2012, I asked about some recommendations of where to visit and what to see on a 6-week trip around the US. This thread contains the advice we were given, as well as photos of the places we'd recommend visiting based on our experences there. We got to visit lots of great people, and saw lots of wonderful scenery.

Feel free to continue to add your own recommendations and experiences about "must see" places in the US. :)





In about 3 weeks time, we are planning to begin a drive from Calgary area down to Louisiana, which we estimate will take us a little over 2 weeks. We'd like to be in Louisiana for American Thanksgiving. It may be a fairly direct route, or it may meander here and there.

Then we may do a little loop eastward, depending on how much time we have.

And then we plan to drive back to Vancouver by heading west, and then north along the Pacific Coast, and again, that might take a little over 2 weeks.


There's a good chance we could travel through the following states: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington, and possibly also Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Maybe some others, but those are the most likely candidates.



Ideally, we would like to drive to a nice area, stop for 2-3 days and do a hub-and-spoke cycling tour, then drive to the next nice area, and repeat. A series of hub-and-spoke tours through the US. :)


We'd like to take in some attractions ... maybe Logan's Pass if it isn't too snowy, maybe Yellowstone or Grand Teton National Parks, Grand Canyon, The Redwoods ...

And if possible, we'd like to see some people along the way too. :)


We're up for suggestions of good places to visit ... especially places with some great scenery and good cycling.

The west side of Going to the Sun in Glacier NP has already closed. There is still bicycle access on weekends only, but it will end with the first significant snowfall. Similarly, Yellowstone has begun closing its road network. All through roads will be closed by Nov 5 - earlier with significant snowfall. YNP no longer permits cycling on closed sections.

If you are heading south from Calgary, I suggest continuing thru Cardston to US 89 (not I-15) if you want to see Glacier. You may still be able to get all the way to Logan Pass from St Mary - - and/or cycle to Many Glacier from Babb. Nearly all facilities will be closed. Likewise with Grand Teton - Jackson HOle can be beautiful in late fall or brutal. You would need to access via the Idaho side and come over Teton Pass. GTNP does permit cycling on its closed park roads.

But both of these are iffy options. You don't have a great deal of time - - I would suggest heading down to the Utah parks which are spectacular - - then heading to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. (The North Rim is also closed.) Cycling the Taos loop in northern New Mexico is lovely - albeit on the cool side. But you are Canadian - albeit with thinned Aussie blood. One of the best possibilities is Big Bend NP - a fabulous ride this time of year - a big loop from Alpine, Texas - all services. Also, consider a loop in Cajun country in southwest Lousiana - Cameron, Abbeville, Bayou Teche. Remember that the area has experienced three major hurricanes in the past ten years - but there is no place with more welcoming folks or better food.

If you're coming through DFW, maybe contact Trinity Bicycles in Fort Worth. The owner does some randos so he might be able to recommend some good tours around the area. If nothing else, you could join our Wed or Sunday night pub crawl rides and take in some of the local culture (look for Night Riders on Facebook, if you have an account). I can't really recommend "scenery" rides around here, since almost all my miles are urban.

The Buffalo National River area in Northwest Arkansas is absolutely beautiful and you could be in the vicinity at peak fall colors! Lots of great camping, hiking, and canoeing. One thing, it's a pretty hilly region in the ozark mountains so be ready for that.

Sequoia NP and the Yosemite Valley are well worth a visit. They are open year round, but many parts of the parks may become inaccessible. I personally have never visited during the winter, but have always wanted to. I think it typically gets to be winter conditions there in November. I also have always wanted to visit Yellowstone in winter. The pictures I have seen were amazing.

Not sure about how cycling at any of those parks is in winter. They likely are not be all that suited to bicycling at that time. Even if they aren't, visiting them by car and possibly xc skiing or snoeshoeing might be worth looking in to. Perhaps Jamawani will pipe up with real life experience on these areas.

Sounds like the perfect time of year to visit Death Valley National Park in California! By the time you're there, snow skiing will probably have started in the Sierra mountains. Lake Tahoe probably has the largest number of ski areas to chose from. Joshua Tree National Park in southern California is popular for desert scenery and superb rock climbing. If you don't mind big cities San Diego and Los Angeles usually have nice weather and great cycling opportunities year 'round. The "Big Sur" area of the California coast, between Monterey and San Luis Obispo, is justifiably famous, though the weather may be dreary. If you're in the area, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is worth a visit. Hearst Castle, in San Simeon is also worth a visit if you're traveling along the coast. Don't bother staying in San Simeon, though; Cambria or San Luis Obispo are much better options.

Depending on when you arrive, parks and destinations in the Sierra mountains may or may not be easily accessible. Yosemite National Park draws a lot of people in with spectacular scenery. It can be even more dramatic in winter, but also more difficult to access. I'm also a fan of Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is further north. I thought the cinder cone in the northeast corner of the park, near Butte Lake, was incredibly cool but it's only accessible via dirt road... which might not be passable in the winter. Further north, Redwood National Park and the Avenue of the Giants are great places to see redwood trees; expect lots of rain, though. Those aren't the only places, however. Muir Woods National Monument, for example, is easily accessible from San Francisco.

278032

Grand Junction, Colorado (http://tomorrowhillfarm.com/JohnHodgebicycleMaps.html)

Zion, in Utah, it is a few hundred miles from Death valley, so you will probably be in the area.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=8606

Unless you are into Formula 1 Grand Prix racing and lots of crowds and high prices, best to avoid Austin November 16th-18th.

However, Fredericksburg, TX is nice place in Texas Hill Country to consider for hub and spoke rides. This is not coincidentally also place where Texas Hell Week rides (www.hellweek.com) occur during wildflower season. Austin and San Antonio also potential for hub and spoke riding though both are much larger metropolitan areas with good/bad that comes with that.

We do tend to like smaller centres. Larger places (like London, Paris, etc.) are OK for brief visits, but we're more 'country' than 'city'. A small town next to a natural attraction, like maybe Zion National Park, for example, is more appealing to us. :)

That's one of the reasons the west coast of France appealed to us ... little towns with populations of just thousands (not even ten-thousands) and massive quantities of empty beaches. :D

Greatly depending on the type of winter we get on the Pacific Coast and your tolerance for riding in the rain, there are lots of nice rides in the hills of Napa and Sonoma Counties in NorCal. You might also consider a ride up Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tam while you pass through, especially if you get one of the many clear winter days to enjoy the view from Diablo.

With the same rain caveat, you could park it near the Avenue of the Giants and explore the rather steep hills of the Lost Coast. There's a nice paved route from Ferndale through Honeydew and back (two choices, actually), or you can explore a bit of muddy gravel road if that's your thing. There's some sort of cabins that are rented out near Honeydew, but I don't remember the name of the place, other than that all the amenities are on the Hwy 101 side of the hill.

If you find yourself in the Phoenix area you might want to check out the Apache Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Trail). I did my first tour through there (Phoenix to Tucson) in 1995 and loved it. The trail can be steep in spots, and 22 miles of it is unpaved, but we had no trouble riding loaded bikes over it. It was smooth dirt for the most part. If you're doing any camping, Tortilla Flat would be a good spot to camp and ride from, as would Roosevelt Lake. Info on camping around there here (http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/southwst/tontinfo.htm). You could also motel it in Apache Junction or near the opposite end of the trail in Globe. Early November should be a great time to be there. By then the scorching heat of summer is waning, and most of the snowbirds probably haven't arrived yet. Once they get there, traffic can be an issue. Even then, most people seem to drive as far as Tortilla Flat (the paved section) and then turn back, so between there and Roosevelt Lake it could be very light traffic.

If you come to Oregon, I'd be happy to ride with you and Rowan on some of my favorite rides. If it's not raining, I'm riding. Eugene would be a nice spot to linger for a few days.

Also in Oregon the Old Columbia Gorge highway is a classic ride.

What about around Crater Lake ... or would that be snowed in?

What about around Crater Lake ... or would that be snowed in?

Snow will be a problem during winter. The Rim Visitor Center is closed from October through May along with most of the other lodging and campgrounds. Other roads/trails may be closed as well. The park's website (http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm) should have up-to-date information on closures.

There are some great "hub and spoke" rides from Moab, UT. Combined with Eofelis' suggestion of Grand Junction, CO area, it would be a great week in Canyonlands of the Colorado River. The rides in Moab go into two National Parks, both are beautiful rides and very interesting. Given the time of year you are suggesting, this would be a good time to ride in this area.

Let me know if ya'll are going to come through Georgia, especially West Central GA (Macon - Columbus). With enough notice, I'll take some time off work if possible (can't Nov 9th) and plan a ride with ya'll.

Joshia Tree National Park CA. Moab UT. Tuscon AZ. Grand Junction CO.

Machka, This probably doesn't fit in with your plans, but San Diego would be a great place for day rides/spoke rides. The weather is fabulous in December; you can cycle the coast, or bike in the moutains. Take your pick. Our house is open for you, including a hot tub, gorgeous sunsets, and plenty of wine and good conversation.

What about around Crater Lake ... or would that be snowed in?

There is zero snow up there now (currently raining), but once it gets going it can really pile up in a hurry. It hadn't rained since July around here (I'm about 2 hours west of Crater Lake) until this weekend. Supposed to get colder with possible snow at the lake by next weekend.

We are in North America now. :)

Do any of you know if people can get internet sticks so we can pick up the internet all over the US and not have to depend on wifi availability? We use one of these usb sticks in Australia for our internet, and used one in the UK as well. We were able to find one for Canada, but they seem to be rare here, or at least they were rare last year. So we're wondering if they are available in the US.

We are in North America now. :)

Do any of you know if people can get internet sticks so we can pick up the internet all over the US and not have to depend on wifi availability? We use one of these usb sticks in Australia for our internet, and used one in the UK as well. We were able to find one for Canada, but they seem to be rare here, or at least they were rare last year. So we're wondering if they are available in the US.
You can get a no-contract mobile connection easily enough. Look for them in Target, Walmart, Best Buy, many shopping malls. They may not allow a load of bandwidth, but there's not much to do about that. You can also stop in at mobile phone stores, and see what they offer; you may get better coverage that way, and I believe you'll have better availability off the PCS network (though many pre-paid offerings such as Virgin Mobile will use PCS, which is also a bit slower but better than nothing).

Also a lot of places have free wifi, though you'll often find these places are fast food locations. But if you come across a Panera Bread (as one example of a better place), you can find soups and other real foods with free internet access.

What about wifi in campgrounds in North America? Most of the campgrounds we stayed in during our time in Europe had wifi, and all but one of the hotels did.

maybe WiFi with your morning Cuppa, in the Cafe..

What about wifi in campgrounds in North America? Most of the campgrounds we stayed in during our time in Europe had wifi, and all but one of the hotels did.

I wouldn't expect it in Forest Service/BLM type campgrounds. However, commercial campgrounds such as KOA I'd expect more of them to have it. Last weekend I did a mini-tour out to Bastrop State Park a little ways east of Austin and was surprised this TX state park had wifi accessible from near one of the toilets. It is also quite common in small motels I find when I'm touring in US (and elsewhere).

There's also a low-cost option called Freedom Pop someone I know is looking into:
http://www.freedompop.com/

What about wifi in campgrounds in North America? Most of the campgrounds we stayed in during our time in Europe had wifi, and all but one of the hotels did.
I'm not sure if this will be the case in the regions you'll be travelling through, but on my tour through Massachusetts and New York this September, most campgrounds I stayed at did NOT have wifi. For the national parks, state parks, BLM campgrounds, etc. it's pretty much a certainty they will not have it. For KOAs...I stayed at two--one advertised it, but it was not working; the other allowed 1 hour free then wanted me to pay after that.

I had most success with stopping at fast-food chains (even if I wasn't going to eat there) like McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, and Panera (I think somebody already mentioned). Panera is the best, food-wise, of those three. Maybe other people know of more chains besides these? Also, I would stop at libraries for wifi--quiet, comfortable--but they often have really limited hours of operation. :( Although, I WAS able to get wifi from outside a library after-hours once or twice.

My experience has been most RV park style campgrounds DO have wifi, and none of the other types do. But, the RV Park camping experience is truly horrible (lights, generators, RV people) whereas the state/national park campgrounds are usually cheaper and set in more attractive and natural surroundings. I found it not worth it to stay in RV parks just for those services, most of the time. I occasionally will choose an RV Park for laundry, since that's time consuming. Obviously, sometimes there is no choice, you camp where ever you can.

Watch out, some places close for the winter.

Best option I have used so far is my iPhone - can get service lots of places, often enough 3G service to use the browser on the phone. AT&T and Verizon have wide coverage, T-Mobile and Sprint will likely be useless for where you are travelling. THis of course applies to any WiFi stick type product as well. You should probably visit the AT&T and Verizon stores to see what you can find.

Looking at routes south of Calgary, through Pincher Creek or Cardston, southward ... and debating between heading for Missoula, and taking in a bit of Idaho ... or Great Falls, and aiming directly for Colorado and Texas.

I know Calgary has had a signficant dump of snow, so now I'm thinking that some of the more northern attractions will be buried in snow ... and closed.

I had most success with stopping at fast-food chains (even if I wasn't going to eat there) like McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, and Panera (I think somebody already mentioned). Panera is the best, food-wise, of those three. Maybe other people know of more chains besides these?

WiFi services are often provided by AT&T. Many locations offer free WiFi, some charge a small fee. If you have an AT&T cell phone, most (all?) service plans include free WiFi access. AT&T WiFi locations (http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540) include McDonald's restaurants, Starbucks coffee shops, Barnes and Noble bookstores, Hilton hotels, and FedEx Office copy centers. Probably lots of other locations, too.

Motel 6, an inexpensive motel chain, claims to offer wired or wireless Internet at many locations. My experience has been hit-or-miss with it actually working, however.

Machka - if I were in your shoes I would not try to ride in the northern rockies. We are due for snow here in CO tomorrow night, at 5000 feet. Season is over. Yellowstone is one of the coldest places in the country.

It's the wrong time of year to be cycle touring here in the USA, but you can maximize your happiness by just getting some kind of motorized transportation far south, right now, and take advantage of what is left of the nice weather in southern california, arizona and new mexico, and maybe utah. It is already too late for WA, MT, WY, CO, etc. If you try to ride from north to south, you are just going to be in bad/cold weather the whole time - why not have some nice weather right now.

My $0.02, FWIW, YMMV, etc. etc.

It's the wrong time of year to be cycle touring here in the USA, but you can maximize your happiness by just getting some kind of motorized transportation far south, right now, and take advantage of what is left of the nice weather in southern california, arizona and new mexico, and maybe utah. It is already too late for WA, MT, WY, CO, etc. If you try to ride from north to south, you are just going to be in bad/cold weather the whole time - why not have some nice weather right now.

My $0.02, FWIW, YMMV, etc. etc.

We are driving down to Louisiana ... we're just trying to pick a route that won't be too nasty to drive through.

The plan is to take about 2.5 weeks to drive to Louisiana ... 2 days to drive to Wyoming or Colorado, stop for 2-3 days to explore the area, preferably by bicycle ... 1 days to drive to wherever next, stop for 2-3 days to explore the area, preferably by bicycle, etc. A series of hub-and-spoke tours like that.

Then we'll be in the Louisiana area for a couple weeks or so.

We've allowed about 2.5 weeks, but we could shorten that and arrive there a little bit earlier, and then spend more time exploring Louisiana and eastward, maybe even into Florida.

So I guess the first thing we're looking for is a good place to stop for 2-3 days approx. 1-2 days' drive from the Calgary area. :)

Yes, there is a big system over much of the West with very cold temps and snowfall.
However, there should be a warm-up next week.

Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP can be spectacular in late fall on a nice day.
Consider driving thru Cardson and following US 89 at least to Choteau, MT.
(You can cut west on Hwy 200 to Missoula if you choose.)

Then again, this would be a good time to explore New Mexico and Big Bend NP in Texas.

We'll be on the road again tomorrow. The plan is to go to Alberta ... and then to head for the Grand Junction area, along the west side of Grand Teton National Park.

Hopefully we'll be able to find some sort of internet provider when we get into the US.

Come to Prescott, Arizona if you can--I'd like to meet you guys and my wife and I are on Warmshowers. There are some good snow-free mountain rides around here.

We'll be on the road again tomorrow. The plan is to go to Alberta ... and then to head for the Grand Junction area, along the west side of Grand Teton National Park.

Hopefully we'll be able to find some sort of internet provider when we get into the US.

The riding and hiking weather has been great in Grand Junction lately.

Come to Prescott, Arizona if you can--I'd like to meet you guys and my wife and I are on Warmshowers. There are some good snow-free mountain rides around here.

Thanks!!

We're just over the border in Canada right now, with plans to aim for somewhere in the Helena, Butte, or Bozeman areas tomorrow (or maybe the next day). I don't think I've been to any of those places.

I'm not sure what the weather will be in Missouri during your visit, but my wife and I rode this entire trail last summer and had a ball:

http://www.bikekatytrail.com/

Charlene,

Many Texas State Parks now offer Wi-fi. Here's a listing (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/facilities/wireless_internet/).

Most California State Parks offer AT&T wifi, but only in a limited area, such as just around the headquarters, not in the actual camp area.

The best one I've experienced was Bull Taco's free wifi at their taco shop in the heart of the San Elijo State Beach campground. Just ask them for the password and connect to their encrypted network, not the open "-guest" one.

We're in Grand Junction, CO and will likely be in this area for a few days. When we leave, I'm thinking that we'll make our way toward Colorado Springs (maybe via Denver), and then head southeast toward Texas and Oklahoma.

What's Amarillo like?

Any nice places in western Oklahoma?

I'm in Grand Junction! Where are you staying?

We're staying with family ... and planning to do a little bit of cycling up on/in the Colorado National Monument this afternoon. :) We'll drive up and check it out that way, then see about tackling the wind on a short ride.

Tomorrow we're thinking of going out to Arches National Park to do a little bit of hiking or cycling or both.

In Arches there is a ranger led hike into the Fiery Furnace area. This is the best hike in the park IMHO, takes 2 - 3 hours. Check at the visitor center at the park entrance to sign up.

The hike to Delicate Arch is nice. Cycling in the park is excellent, if windy watch out for blowing sand. Have fun.

In Arches there is a ranger led hike into the Fiery Furnace area. This is the best hike in the park IMHO, takes 2 - 3 hours. Check at the visitor center at the park entrance to sign up.

The hike to Delicate Arch is nice. Cycling in the park is excellent, if windy watch out for blowing sand. Have fun.

I went on a ranger lead hike into the Fiery Furnace just a few weeks ago. I think it was the last ranger lead one of the season. You can get your own permit and go in on your own though. We ran a GPS track while we were in there (and got a fairly good signal) and can supply a .gpx file for anyone that wants it to go in there with it and help you find your way around.

Tower Arch, on the western side of the park, is an excellent hike and visited less than other parts of the park.

If you find yourself in NJ or Philly, my wife and I would love to take you both out to dinner.

If you're coming through DFW, maybe contact Trinity Bicycles in Fort Worth. The owner does some randos so he might be able to recommend some good tours around the area. If nothing else, you could join our Wed or Sunday night pub crawl rides and take in some of the local culture (look for Night Riders on Facebook, if you have an account). I can't really recommend "scenery" rides around here, since almost all my miles are urban.

We are hoping to be somewhere around about in the general neighbourhood of McKinney, TX on about Thursday 15 November, and we might stay in that area the next day as well. :)

Unless you are into Formula 1 Grand Prix racing and lots of crowds and high prices, best to avoid Austin November 16th-18th.

However, Fredericksburg, TX is nice place in Texas Hill Country to consider for hub and spoke rides. This is not coincidentally also place where Texas Hell Week rides (www.hellweek.com (http://www.hellweek.com)) occur during wildflower season. Austin and San Antonio also potential for hub and spoke riding though both are much larger metropolitan areas with good/bad that comes with that.

We're hoping to come through the Austin area somewhere about Tuesday 27 November or thereabouts. :) From there we'd like to head up into New Mexico, because I've never cycled in New Mexico. I'm guessing we might pass through Fort Stockton on the way there, but I'm not sold on that.