Have reservation for 3 nights (arriving July 1) at the St. Mary Village. Plan is to ride through Canada to Michigan and take the steam ferry across Lake Michigan. Looking for route and places to stay (motels) suggestions from Manitowoc to St. Mary. Plan to ride no more 350 - 400 miles per day.

 

A few places I wouldn't miss on the way are of course the Black Hills, Bighorn and the northeast corner of Yellowstone( Beartooth Pass)


Skeetz Tripin on FB

 

As Skeetz states....since you are going all the way to Glacier, definite ROADS NOT TO MISS....i added a map...obviously you can go from pin 3 to pin 4....i have an interactive map and that portion is now closed because of snow.....I did the same route only in reverse...i would stay the 3 days in Columbia city near Kalispell...alot more to do then St Mary's

 

Agreed, the only thing personally I would go thru Cody into Yellowstone, Buffalo Bill Dam and Park is something you have to see.
Considering your going to be in St Mary's for 3 days, another place to see, just northwest of there, before Babb, west into the park is Swiftcurrent and Many Glacier park and hotel. Great place to eat or hike.

 

OP asked about Manitowoc to St. Mary, Mont. So after getting off ferry, if you can include the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. You won’t be disappointed. Next, I’d say haul *** to Glendive, Mont. From there get to MT 200 west toward Lewistown and Great Falls, Mont. Or, if time permits find US 12 in eastern Montana and take that to White Sulphur Springs and then north to Great Falls. Both are fine rides in classic Montana ranch country, with some mountains included in the latter suggestion. Most any of the motels you run across will be fine. Booking.com. So, after Glacier and back to NY....well that depends on your time requirements. Sounds like a fine trip you’ve got lined up.

 

In Montana ..... Alternate Route 14 from Dayton to Kane..... Cody/Chief Joseph Pass/Beartooth Pass.

 

We did this ride in reverse, Glacier NP back to NY. We rode the High Line, Route 2 all the way to Ashland, Michigan. Wide open road, plenty to look at if you like wide open, 75 MPH speed limit and nobody on the road. Towns are often enough that gas was not an issue. Eastern Montana is a little light on Hotels, I would suggest Williston ND. Yeh oil town, just make a reservation Best Western was real nice. We spent 45 minutes pacing an Amtrak train at 70 MPH, cool all day long.

Other suggestions are great as well, but if you are just trying to get from A to B but not interested in the Interstate, Route 2 is an excellent alternative. And it takes you right to St Marys. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

 

If you have never been out west from NY....i suggest going through some of the best roads in north America.....if you have, then that is another story.......you need to let us know....as I posted Columbia City for me would be a better choice to stay...a lot more to do...Kalispell is a wonderful little city...great downtown.

But either going or coming back i would still do the northern tip of Yellowstone, beartooth highway, the Big Horn mountains, the Black Hills, Badlands.....you will need to get to Glacier National Park anyway so why not take the opportunity to ride them...

 

I agree with the guys suggesting that you route through the Black Hills. Other than the time you spend riding in the Black Hills, the route is just a couple of hours longer than the shortest route you might take. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "No hour of life is wasted that is spent" riding in the Black Hills.

Now, if, despite the merits of doing so, you don't have time to ride in the Black Hills, and you don't have time to ride the Beartooth Highway, or Chief Joseph, or spend any time in Yellowstone, then I would follow the advice of mtgriz.

Another suggestion I agree with is that, unless you've got some personal reason for staying in St. Mary, stay on the west side of Glacier in either Columbia Falls, Whitefish, or Kalispell. More restaurants, more choices of lodging, shopping (like for oil, parts, clean underwear, Diet Mt. Dew, whatever) beautiful valley . . . just an all around better place to stay IMHO.

 

Thanks for all the info. Wife and I rode out west in 2016. Did Black Hills, Cody, Yellowstone and the Tetons. Rode the Chief Joseph but not the Beartooth. Didn't have time for GNP. For the ride to GNP leaning toward route 12 info from mtgriz. For ride home like info from giacomo56. Made reservations at St. Mary because it is on the east side of the park and at the start of the Going to the Sun.