NW USA & Canada Tour Sept 2012

[TestPilot]

Hi all you 'Murcans and Canucks. In September 2 Aussie couples will be touring USA and Canada, basically heading from Salt Lake City to Hyder and back.

Here's a rough outline of our draft plan:

Sat 7 Sep leave Salt Lake City and head north to Jackson for night 1. Next day head to Yellowstone (via Grand Tetons, I think)

Nights 2 & 3: Yellowstone. Arrive Southern entrance, leave via the NE entrance - apparently a great road

Night 4: Great Falls - then head to Glacier National Park and ride 'Road to The Sun'.

5: Stay at western end of The Road to The Sun, then head to Banff the next day.

6, 7, 8: Banff (morning trip to Lake Louise, ride locally, be tourists going up cableways, etc)

9: Somewhere past Jasper (includes riding the Icefields Parkway)

10: Halfway to Hyder

11 & 12: Hyder

Then head south again, either taking a ferry to Vancouver Island. Then another ferry to Vancouver, to Whistler then Lillooet (route 99) then south with a day or 3 around Coeur d'Alene (did I spell that right) then back to SLC.

The total trip will be 3 or 4 weeks - still deciding how long.

You should find my first attempt at a map here: https://preview.tinyurl.com/8yd7wyc

We (the riders) are motorcyclists first, and tourists second. Our wives are probably offset the other way round, but they get all the time they like looking at stuff from the back of the bike.

Any suggestions on 'must ride roads' or 'must see and do stuff' or 'must avoid at all costs' suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[FJRay]

Looks like good fun. Yellowstone is worth seeing and a good road but with speed limits set very low and tons of people going in all directions it is slow going.

 

[str8]

Going to the Sun road can also be very busy on weekends. Your route looks good! Be prepared for some cool mornings.

 

[Spud]

Looks like a great route. Two suggestions, but would add some time.

First, from Salt Lake, jog a little south to Kamas, Utah. Then take Utah Highway 150 (Mirror Lake Road) from Kamas to Evanston. That will take you to 10,687 feet over the pass in the Uinta Mountain Range--very spectacular road.

https://www.utah.com/byways/mirror_lake.htm

Second, if you have time, when you leave the NE entrance of Yellowstone, do an "out and back" to Cody Wyoming on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. However, if you don't have time, make the Beartooth Pass your priority as it is (in my opinion) THE road. You'll be amazed...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_Highway_296

 

[kamal]

G'day.

Looks like you will be by-passing my 'neck o' the woods' - both ways!

Did some high mountain passes late last September - froze in the morning, cooked in the afternoon. But your trip plan looks good, shouldn't be any problems.

Bringing your bikes or renting (hiring)?

Al

 

[TestPilot]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Bear Tooth Highway is the reason we are heading out the NE entrance of Yellowstone, and we'll try and miss Yellowstone and Going to The Sun on weekends. That Mirror Lake Road looks doable - maybe even for a 'shakedown' on the day before we official start our ride.

We have FJR's stored in SLC with a friend. My wife and I toured for 3 weeks in 2009 (California - just a little, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Page, Zion, Bryce, then on the Colorado, back to SLC via Moab).

Al, we stayed over in Kamloops just prior to Christmas 2007 (in a rented 4wd), and maybe we will get back near you. I'll keep that in mind as we finalise plans.

Thanks again. David.