Reno, Faber is right on the mark. I have been there twice but not on a bike. Making a loop is the way to see the most and still not backtrack. I would and have stayed in Cody and make it my day base. I will take I 74 to I80 at Davenport IA then to I 29 North of Omaha to I 90 to Buffalo or Sheridan and then to Cody. We will end up by leaving Jackson hole and through the wind river reservation to Casper and then to I 80 and back to I 74. My wife and I are leaving about the same time next year from Indiana. We have already made reservations for hotels and put them in my phone planner. All we have to do is cancel 24 hr in advance if need be. Good Luck.

 

http://www.yellowstonepark.com/

email someone at the park to tell you the roads they are working on and stay away from them........other than that it is one of the most beautiful areas........enjoy!!

 

http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm

This is a little more specific.........

 

Once again, thanks to all who have replied. Here is a possible new wrinkle in my trip. A colleague at work says that if we're going to be all the way out there, we have to hit Glacier National Park. For this to happen, my friends would have to be able to take off from work for more than a week, an iffy proposition for them.
Anyway, since Glacier is up in Montana, it would seem to make the most sense to see that first, then stay in Gardiner for a couple of days and see that part of Yellowstone and do Beartooth, and then ride over to Cody and stay there a couple of days and from there see the rest of Yellowstone. Or maybe do Beartooth on the way to Glacier. In either case, after Cody, start home to Ohio.
Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

You had mentioned that you and your friends had not been to any national park, so a little advice.. Be very careful that you do not damage any NP property.. including animals.. If you hit an aninmal, on purpose or by accident, you will pay for the animal.. The NP is not sympathetic when you say it jumped in front of you, you didn't see it, could not stop in time..etc.. they are expensive.. don't ask me how I know..

 

Montana is a big place. You could drive the distance from Chicago to DC and still be chugging along on Montana's highways.

There's a lot of Montana between YNP and Glacier NP, about 550 miles, one way.

But people do it. Usually easterners come here, focus on the two national parks, and in their limited vacation time, just put in long days on the bike so that they can get to the NP and ride through quickly to stay on schedule to ride another long day to go to the other one.

Glacier NP is beautiful, to be sure. And all Americans should see it. Come see the glaciers there before they disappear (~10 more years, tops), and then go back to the flatlands to debate whether or not global warming is a hoax.

If you're serious about doing this trip in your limited time, I'll gladly help you with an itinerary (or search: I've helped others), but think carefully about how you want to spend your time. Most easterners want to see Glacier NP and YNP/ Beartooth Hwy because that's what they've heard of. But there's a lot more to WY and MT than the highways between those two places. What do you want to do once you're here? DO you fish, hike, like visiting historical sites........what?

You could just as easily spend that time riding through small town Montana and/or Wyoming and have the time of your life, guaranteed.

 

RutRoo, seems to be adding insult to injury if you hit say, a baby bison, your bike is totaled, you end up in the hospital (either from the wreck or from being gored by its mama), it dies, and NPS sends you a bill for the critter! Wonder if my insurance would cover that?
Faber, I knew Montana is big, but 550 miles from Glacier to Yellowstone? Yikes! That's a good day's ride for us, about 9-10 hours with stops at 70 m.p.h. Cincinnati to Cleveland is 4.5 hours, and lots of folks around here think that's "far." I guess that's why Montana is "Big Sky" country.
A visit to Glacier would be about an extra day to get there, two days to see it, and a day to get to Yellowstone if we dash there and don't try to take in any of the sights between the two. Seems a shame to be all the way out there and not get to it, though. The more we read, the more we have to think about. We're going to have to come to some decisions, no doubt. You and others are right about seeing stuff out there besides the two parks. If we all could swing a full two weeks off, our problems would be solved.

 

Monstead hit it pretty much on the head. It is one of the great rides of the world. Wear/carry lots of layers of clothes as you may have 38 degree temps at on place and time and 4 hours later be in 100 degree weather. My riding friend said he felt like a model on runway he was changing clothing so often in a day. I liked the extremes and it made for a great adventure. The "little cabins" in Yellowstone such as Canyon Lodge cabins are primitive but clean and go for $100 + a night which is not all that bad to be only a few miles from everything. Good Luck

 

I was just in Yellowstone for 5 days over July 4th weekend. Here's my opinion: I've been to Yellowstone twice before. The southern part of the park (south of Grant Village) is boring. Nothing but burned-down and beetle-infested dying trees. Unless you're planning a side trip to Jackson, don't bother going south of Grant Village.

I had never been to the northern part of the park before. I have to say that the Lamar Valley (heading to the northeast gate & Beartooth) is the most beautiful part of the park. Beartooth was unreal! It's like you're riding on the moon. It hailed on the pass right before we got there, and it was pretty chilly, so take the warm stuff for the pass. I also highly recommend a night's stay in Red Lodge. It is really neat town. We stayed at the Yodeler Motel, which recently changed ownership and was renovated. The owners are very motorcycle friendly, and even gave us a bunch of old towels to clean our bikes with. And they have a really cool german shepard named Shackleton that will play fetch as long as you can stand it!

The east entrance over Sylvan Pass to Fishing Bridge is my other favorite part of Yellowstone. The road is nice and curvy and twisty, with great views of Yellowstone Lake. I stayed at the Lake Lodge over the 4th. It was really nice, but just know ahead of time that there's no hot tub to soak your weary bones in! Also, I booked my rooms in the park 6 months in advance and got the last 2 cabins that were available. Book early in the park...they will fill up!

Old Faithful is always neat to see and don't pass up the "Little Grand Canyon" either.

 

We just got back from spending time riding through MT went to Glacier National Park. We did the Yellowstone trip a few years ago. The road into Yellowstone is still a mess and you have to follow a pilot vehicle. But it is worth the trip. The paint pots are really neat to see, put them on your list. Of course there is Bear Tooth, but there are some smaller roads that are just as beautiful. There is the Lewis and Clark Highway. The highway to the Sun. Chief Dan Joseph Highway is a wonderful ride.
If you go through Cooke City. We stayed at a dude ranch , they had the only room available. Sky Line was the name. Take a horse back ride, I think it was only $25 for 1 hour, You ride through some wonderful parts of MT in that area. Not like any trail ride that you have been on. Kinda different type of saddle, makes you slow down a bit.