August Rides

[north woods gal]

Thanks for the low down on both parks. Have never bicycled Yellowstone, but have driven through it and the traffic was bad, like you said.

[azfiddle]

I concur with the comments on Yellowstone and Grand Teton. We hesitated to bike in Yellowstone but saw several groups and individuals. Grand Teton was fabulous for cycling though.

[Sky King]

Well, there are no bike paths, and the shoulders are quite narrow. On some of the roads, there are no shoulders at all. And there is a LOT of traffic, including many large RVs and tour buses. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been mid-summer since we were actually there in what is considered the shoulder season for this part of the country. We did do a couple of rides, but we were disappointed. Just not much thought given to cycling infrastructure there; in Yellowstone, cars rule.

Contrast that to Grand Teton, just one park south, where there are much wider shoulders on the roads, paved bike paths through much of the park, and some paved "back" roads that have almost zero traffic. Less hilly besides. And the views are much more dramatic with the mountains. In Yellowstone, you mostly see lodgepole pines. The lake was beautiful, and there were certainly other gorgeous areas here and there, but we had to take a bus tour to really see the park.

I really wish Yellowstone's website would communicate better for cyclists - it isn't a good place to bike (I keep trying to tell people that ) As the nations largest national park, a very limited "road building season" and horribly strapped for cash, I don't see an improvement in the near future. They do offer some spring riding - before the gates are open to car traffic but even now, the fall visitors have increased dramatically - lots of photographers coming to capture bull elks in rut.

[emily_in_nc]

I really wish Yellowstone's website would communicate better for cyclists - it isn't a good place to bike (I keep trying to tell people that ) As the nations largest national park, a very limited "road building season" and horribly strapped for cash, I don't see an improvement in the near future. They do offer some spring riding - before the gates are open to car traffic but even now, the fall visitors have increased dramatically - lots of photographers coming to capture bull elks in rut.

Yes, there were a ton of people there when we were, even with a couple nights with lows in the 20s -- I was so glad to be in our motorhome and not in a tent, but there were many, many tenters. The days we rode our bikes (only 2 out of a full week there), we never saw any other cyclists on the road at all. The springtime is just too early for us to get there since we spend winters east, and we don't like cold weather. So, I doubt we'll be going back to Yellowstone. There are just too many other better places to ride and enjoy wildlife!