Bike Forums - Great Parks route

Howdy -

So you're from P.G. - Boy did I get drenched all across the Yellowhead this summer - - Rain every day.
Hopefully you'll have better weather in the lower 48 - plus with the US dollar dropping every day the exchange rate may be 1-to-1 by the time you start your tour.

I've biked from northern New Mexico north to Canada a whole bunch of times and a whole bunch of different ways. Depending on when you want to do your do and whether you use a mountain bike will affect your planning. (I'm guessing from your handle that you will tour on a moutain bike, no?)

Have you already done the Icefields Parkway? I'm asking because that will give you a feel for the traffic levels in someof the U.S. parks. Plus, as all roads lead to Rome. so too do all tourists head towards Yellowstone in the summer - so the most direct roads to the parks tend to have a lot of traffic, as well.

I would recommend south to north since June is dry in NM but wet in Montana while August is wet in NM while dryer in Montana. Just like Crown Lands in Canada - you can random camp anywhere on federal lands administered by the forest service or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for free. Not so in National Parks - camping is very restricted, campgrounds are often filled with massive RVs. I figure that since you are from northern BC that you are comfortable throwing up your tent anywhere.

As for routes - -

New Mexico - I'm guessing you want to start on the Mexican border, no? Consider starting at Columbus instead of Antelope Wells - just easier to get there, plus more services. You can run up the west side of NM from Columbus to Silver City to Reserve to Grants on pavement or you can use the AC Great Divide route that is mostly off road. If you haven't been there before, you should definitely include Taos in your itinerary. There are two ways to get to Toas from the south - - the High Road or the Low Road - - the High Road - thru Chimayo and Truchas - is harder and longer - but beautiful - the core of old New Mexico. From Taos you can eaither head due north into the San Luis Valley or head west to Chama. From Chama to Durango there are some great stretches of dirt road that follow the old D&RGW railbed - not as nice as the Kettle Valley, but good riding.

Colorado - There are a number of ways you can do Colorado. Remember a few things - snow melts pretty late at 4000 meters. Dirt road passes won't be open before late June / early July. Paved passes usually open by the end of May. One of the problems with Colorado is the stretch of yuppie ski towns that form Denver's backyard all along I-70. The closer you are to Denver, the worse the traffic. Colorado two-lane highways rarely have shoulders. The further west you are in the state - the less traffic you will have. If you want to hit Durango, I'd take the dirt road over Cinnamon Pass to Lake City and down to Gunnison. Just between you and me - the Adventure Cycling route using US 50 sucks - whether it's used for the Western Express or the Great Parks. Also, the route from Poncha Springs to Breckinridge is the pits. If I were heading north from Poncha I would head thru Leadville and Avon to Steamboat. Better yet is a series of routes that head north from Gunnison. Kebler Pass is open earlier in the season, Schofield Pass is tougher - but truly spectacular heading down to Marble - be careful in Devil's Punchbowl! - and down to Glenwood. Then you can ride over the Flattops to Meeker or west of them. I think one of the finest rides in the entire West is from Meeker to Maybell to Brown's Park in the northwest corner of the state. Beautiful scenery, no traffic, and great weather - high and dry.

Wyoming - Again, the AC route isn't the best. One thing - it puts you on I-80 for about 20 miles. Now, I don't know about you, but who wants to be on the highway with the most semi-truck traffic in North America riding a bike?? I suggest coming into Wyoming south of Rock Springs on Hwy 430. It's remote, empty with very little traffic. US 191 north of Rock Springs has a good deal of tourist and oil & gas traffic, but there are shoulders and great views of the Wind Rivers. You'll come into Jackson Hole from the south rather than having to backtrack to get to Grand Teton Nat'l Park. Great hiker/biker campsites on Jenny Lake. I always try to plan the climb from the south entrance of Yellowstone to Lewis Lake for late in the day so there is shade and less traffic. Sorry, but Yellowstone has very few shoulders and lots of traffic. Campgrounds do have hiker/biker sites - sometimes in lousy locations - like next to the generators in Madison. Best hiker/biker locations are at Lewis Lake, Canyon, Norris, and Indian Creek. Grant and Bridge Bay are monstrously huge. Mammoth is in the bend of the highway. The two campgrounds out towards the northeast entrance are lovely. Also consider backcountry camping in the national parks.

Montana - I think the AC route sucks. I've been between Glacier and Yellowstone every way imaginable. US 89 on the east side is really the best. There's a county road on the other side of the Yellowstone River between Corwin and Livingston - very little traffic all the way up to Belt near Great Falls - Great Falls has a lovely bikeway along the Missouri River in town. There is a dirt road (Millegan Rd) that goes from While Sulphur Springs to Ulm - if you want to bypass Great Falls - very tough. A service road leads west - the once you get past Sun River - traffic is very light. US 89 is in the high plains with spectacular views of the Front Range whereas Hwy 83 thru Seeley Lake is pretty heavily forested. I favor doing Going-to-the-Sun Road from east to west. 1. You have the sun behind you illuminating the peaks in the morning - and 2. You don't have top worry about uphill restrictions.

That does it for now.
Best - John

Pics - Grey cliffs near Cuba, NM; West Elk Mtns, CO; Teton Range, WY; Glacier Park, MT