Fly and ride yellowstone

[giff]

I'm planning a fly and ride trip to Yellowstone in June 2011. We don't have enough time to ride the fat lady there from New York, so it'll have to be a fly and ride venture. I've been there many times,but never on a bike. Any suggestions on which town I should make my base. The wife and others will be bringing too much luggage, so we'll have to travel in and out of the park dailey. Which town will have a nice touring bike to rent, a good place to stay, the cheapest flight to and the quickest park entry? I've got some time to plan this out and I want to do it right! I would appreciate any info. or first hand experiences. There will be 6 in our group and we'll need 4 motorcycles. This will be a 7 day trip including the round trip flight from Newark airport.
                                                                                            Thanks,
                                                                                               giff

[Valker]

Check this one out: http://www.flyandride.net/
There are others. Google is your friend.

[Gator]

Which town will have a nice touring bike to rent, a good place to stay, the cheapest flight to and the quickest park entry?

Giff, I think Valker has provided some good advice regarding bike rentals. As far as a base to stay, I'd recommend West Yellowstone. Close and easy access to the park with a lot of motels to choose from which makes the pricing competetive & more reasonable. Jackson WY to the south is very expensive and a longer commute to the park. There are some motels north of Mammoth outside of the park. I haven't tried those.
When you decide, book your motels in advance. They fill up, even in June. http://www.westyellowstonenet.com/
Ensure you ride the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. It's my favorite twisty road in this part of the world.

[Sodbuster]

Gator is correct that West Yellowstone is close and easy access to the park but if you're going to fly in then Cody makes more sense .... they have an airport.  Also, the road from Cody to the park is breathtaking as well. You could easily make a loop to include Chief Joseph Hwy as Gator mentioned which is a must and if you're feeling adventurous try and include Beartooth highway if you can .... AWESOME !!

The only downfall to your plan is the timing .... you could easily run into SNOW that time of year (June). I've been out there the 4th of July and had to change my route because the road into the park from Cody was closed because of snow. July /August would actually be better. Yellowstone can have some nasty weather. I've been thru that area many times.

Sodbuster

[Sourdough]

+1 on the info Sodbuster gave you. If you are flying in Cody is the best choice.
They have motorcycle rentals in Cody, but not sure about West Yellowstone.
Beartooth Pass is a must ride on your trip!! You don't say when in June you are
going, but the earlier you go the less chance you have to access some of these
roads as they may not be open yet. Yes, it can snow there in June... Good luck
planning your trip.

http://www.beartoothhighway.com/
http://www.flyandride.us/rentals.cfm

[fudgie]

I hear folks talk about staying in Red Lodge.

[Sodbuster]

Red Lodge is a pretty cool town .... and motorcycle friendly but Red Lodge will distance your group from Yellowstone if that is your primary focus. I don't know if I'd make Red Lodge my base camp unless you wanted to include some travel time in Montana.

I guess if it were me I'd fly into Cody and motel there for a day or two - quick run up to Red Lodge (via Belfry) and do the Beartooth Pass and ride over to Cooke City and come back thru Chief Joseph Hwy (#296) have the sun to your back on way back to Cody. Then the next day ride thru/into Yellowstone over to West Yellowstone and stay there a day or two before you head back to Cody. Cody does have lots to offer for creature comforts.

Something to consider about staying in West Yellowstone is if you have to come back thru the park to get to Cody and there is bad weather .... it will make for a LONG miserable ride.

Your traveling speed is going to slow way down while you're out there because of sight seeing, picture taking, animals on the road, etc. so don't be surprised if you only put on like 200 miles in one day.

Watch the weather closely and check for road construction before you go. Seems like there is ALWAYS road construction in or near the park. I was just out that way last summer and there was road construction around Red Lodge area and had signs warning motorcyclists to consider an alternate route.

[Gator]

Sodbuster, you make an extremely important point and that is about road construction. I rode through Yellowstone on the way to IZ9 in Frisco CO last year and the traffic going into the park on the south side entrance was a KAZILLION miles long due to construction on that park access road. Putting up with line-ups like that repeatedly would ruin a good riding vacation.

Looks like this site provides updates about road construction: http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm Might not be a big deal as south road was rebuilt last year and east access from Cody was rebuilt a few years before that. Road west of Cooke City was under severe construction in 2008.

[Sodbuster]

Here is the site that I use a lot ....

http://www.wyoroad.info/

Also, check out some of the web cams on that site.

[Sodbuster]

Another option .... Bozeman, Mt - Bike Rental, Airport, easy access to the park.

http://www.yellowstoneharley.com/custompage.asp?pg=rentals


S.W. Montana is a great area to ride - Hwy 191 from Bozeman to W. Yellowstone is an awesome ride.

Some cool places to take in ....
http://www.virginiacitymt.com/
http://www.bannack.org/


If you went in July there is the Beartooth Rally !!

http://www.beartoothrally.com/

[giff]

Thanks for all the fly ride info. I going to do my homework. Keep the tips coming!
                                                                                                     giff

[Sodbuster]

I hear folks talk about staying in Red Lodge.

Hey Fudgie -

I know you mentioned in another post that you might have your hands tied for Sturgis because of your 1st anniversary .... you might want to give the Beartooth Rally a try (Red Lodge) .... it has the same flavor as Sturgis .. only smaller. I was out there in '04. There were some Valks there. It takes place middle of July.

http://www.beartoothrally.com/

[fudgie]

I hear folks talk about staying in Red Lodge.

Hey Fudgie -

I know you mentioned in another post that you might have your hands tied for Sturgis because of your 1st anniversary .... you might want to give the Beartooth Rally a try (Red Lodge) .... it has the same flavor as Sturgis .. only smaller. I was out there in '04. There were some Valks there. It takes place middle of July.

http://www.beartoothrally.com/

Sure would be nice. I kinda would rather wait and take her with me if I was going that far since we both never been west of Sundance WY. We were going to hit MT last year and even left camp early to do so. I ran out of money and was told it was my fault.  

Oh, and I still plan on going to Sturgis this year either way. 

[StormRiderCA]

I rode Yellowstone in mid June this year after the Hells Canyon Rally.  When I rode up from Jackson Hole it was still frozen at the first campsite in Yellowstone on hwy 89.  I was snowed on at Yellowstone Lake and nights were below zero a couple of times.  I don't know if that is normal as this year was a very late spring.

The ride was great and scenery is was worth the snow,  I strongly suggest the North ride on Hwy 212, great highway.  You can do Yellowstone Lake to Billings in an easy day.  Unfortunately when I was there the Beartooth Pass was still snowed in, but I rode that in '09, if you have the chance that is a GREAT ride.

Good Luck to you.

[Sodbuster]

Almost forgot ....

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody
http://www.bbhc.org/home/

Nitely rodeo in Cody
http://www.codystampederodeo.com/


Also, as long as you're out there you owe it to yourself to go see the Teton Mtn's if you haven't already.

You might have to take off two weeks   

[Ricky-D]

You can make the big circle and see Wind River Canyon also, totally awesome.

***

[Sodbuster]

You can make the big circle and see Wind River Canyon also, totally awesome.

***

That's an excellent suggestion .... 419 miles .... might be 2 two days ride (remember you're speed will be reduced)
The yellow is road construction (I used Microsoft streets & Trips)



Here's some other routes showing no road construction (note mileage in header)

[Farther]

This past June/July there was a lot of road contruction in Yellowstone and on the Bear Tooth Highway.  There was probably 20 minute delays on the Beartooth and up to 1 1/2 hours on US 20 going west out of Yellowstone.  So, maybe they got it all done this last summer.  Be prepared for a wide range in temperatures.  It was in the high 30's entering Yellowstone from Cody and when leaving Yellowstone the same day west on US 20, it was in the 90's.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

Staying a day or two at Cody and riding the road from there to Yellowstone is worth the trip alone. It's an awesome ride with lots of damaged guard rails to remind you "you could get bit".

The Buffalo Bill Museum and adjoining Firearms museum http://www.codywyomingnet.com/buffalo_bill/museum.php in Cody are well worth spending a few hours vacation time on. Also, there is a very good restaurant in town http://www.historic-hotels.com/wyoming/irma-hotel which Bill Cody founded that still contains much of the woodwork and the bar he had put in. Great steaks are to be had there.

Highway 212 (The Beartooth Highway) to the North of Yellowstone is one you don't want to miss riding. It and the Highway to the Sun in Glacier Park are the coolest roads I have ridden so far in life. http://www.beartoothhighway.com/

Stupefyingly, overpoweringly, unimaginably beautiful is a huge understatement concerning the Beartooth. We had snow within feet of our wheels when we went through in late July/early August but none on the road. Never have I felt closer to the hand of God than I did in that country. Some sections were one lane dirt, clinging to the side of a mountain with a lead car to bring traffic through one direction at a time due to construction. Those were arguably the most fun sections.

The Beartooth is a ride not to be missed if you can help it.

[Sodbuster]

Oooopps .... thanks for the head's up FryeVRCCDS0067 .... I had the wrong map at the beginning (I changed it).

Electric gear is essential but not sure how that'll pan out with a rental bike ??

We were out there in '04 and stayed in Cody after doing the Beartooth. We walked by a couple sitting outside the motel we were staying at and they looked distraught. I asked how "How's it going" and then he told me what happened to them. They rode into Yellowstone "for the day" a couple days prior. It was a nice day so they rode in without any jackets and got caught in a thunderstorm. Mudslides everywhere, roads closed .... they found a telephone booth to stand in to get out of the rain and try to stay warm. Some Park Rangers came thru and found them and asked WTH are you doing ?? The Park Rangers brought then to a ranger station for shelter till the storm passed and brought them back a couple days later to their bike. Lesson learned !!

[waterman]

Hello,
I am a little late for this posting, but I will add my two sense. I live just outside Yellowstone in Laurel, MT and ride into the park every year.
All good advice and the trips recommended will satisfy your wanderlust. I would recommend Billings for an airport or Bozeman as they both have good bike rental shops close by.
You can stay close to the park in any of the communities listed. Weather changes quickly and construction is an issue anywhere in and around the park.
Just allow plenty of time. I had a standoff in a canyon with a Buffalo one trip. My wife was hitting me on the helmet to turnaround and get out of the way, but I was able to scoot down the side when it started pushing on a mini van.
Great place to ride.