You didn't say how long you'll be out here.

Tell me that and approx how many hours a day you like to ride, and I'll be happy to recommend all kinds of places.

To the guy who said to avoid Browning, it's on a reservation. What did you expect? Nice folks, though.

 

I'll chime in. We are usually gone about two weeks on our big trip every year. I am wanting to go to Glacier Nat. Park. Have done Bear Tooth and Chief Joseph several times so they aren't a must next time I go that direction. (Although I will ride them again. Bear Tooth being one of my favorite rides.)

 

2 places that are very good....

Two Medicine Grill in East Glacier

Buffalo Grill in Whitefish......best breakfast in the world!!

 

I will highly second this recommendation. Faber has the goods on local travel up there and I have never seen him post anything but stellar rides!

I've done GNP twice, and made sure the second time to schedule more time for the Going to the Sun Road. 1) there are lots of traffic stops as the road is either a) closed in winter or b) under construction/repair the OTHER 30 DAYS, and 2) take the little pullouts and take pictures. I still go back and look at the photos with amazement.

 

Thanks everyone. We will be in GNP about 3-4 days depending on weather and ride. The total trip will be 10 days

 

That be me....... They probably are nice people, if they are not bombed out of their mind at noon. I just prefer to stay in places that are a little more civilized.

I have been through many of reservations, just expected a little more than what it is.

Did not mean any harm....

Later

 

I would do the HWY to the Sun from the east. There are some nices places to stay west Glacier and in Whitefish you have all kinds of options in Whitefish from Super 8 and to some real nice places like Grouse Mountain Lodge. We stayed at the Best Western Rocky mountain lodge in Whitefish it's walking distants to lots of bars and resturants.

 

Well, GNP is a funny place. It's not like Yellowstone or Yosemite. There's really only one paved road: Going-to-the-Sun Road.

There are a couple of other short paved roads, like Many Glacier Road, but they are not through roads. Still, nice to take the short trip in and see the sights.

The Inside North Fork Road is a pretty rough dirt road. The NPS advises RVs not to do it. So you can ride your Harleys at your own discretion. It is one of the quieter parts of the park as a result, though.

You may enjoy heading to Waterton Lakes NP. That's the NP in Canada that adjoins GNP. The Canadians have a different approach to national parks: the wild is more wild, and the lodges are, well.....something else. The Prince of Wales Lodge is pretty nice. Great way to reward a patient OL for her days of quiet back-seat "work."

An alternative is to do the GttS Road, going east to west, and then end up in Whitefish. Fun town. Use that as a base. Next day do a lap of Flathead Lake. That's an all-day ride, but very scenic. Next day you could ride out to Libby, which is a little more unedited, but up in the Kootenai is pretty country.

Or, if you want a four-day tour of western MT, start from I-90, then take I-15 north to Great Falls, stay the night (get a drink at the Sip-n-Dip--the last mermaid bar in the West). Head over to GNP, to the GttS Road, end up in Whitefish for the night. Then take US 93 down through the Flathead, through Missoula, through the Bitterroot. Spend the night in Hamilton (great brewpub) or push to Dillon--you turn left at the Continental Divide and head towards Wisdom, then turn right and head towards Jackson/Dillon. Be sure to check out the Big Hole National Battlefield and Bannack. From there head up to Twin Bridges, then to Virginia City, down to Ennis (great BBQ place in Ennis), then go south on US 287 to West Yellowstone, enter Yellowstone NP, and pick a way to cross (I'd suggest heading south at Madison Jct to Old Faithful, then to West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, then out the East Entrance), and stay in Cody. Check out the Nite Rodeo. It's PRCA--good rodeo.

Then work your way over the Bighorns back to I-90.

That''ll get you to most of the "greatest hits" of the area in 4 nights. The last day is a long one, but worth it.

 

Many thanks Faber and everyone. Faber the ride sounds great. However we have been through Yellowstone and stayed at Cody (saw the rodeo). Is there an alternate route to bypass Yellowstone? I am just reaching and if Yellowstone is the best of the rest then for sure we will go that way. The last time we were out there we hit Yellowstone, Red Lodge, and Jackson.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Well, you could either go further north into AB. Go up to Jasper. Man, AMAZING country.

Or, take US 93 south through the Flathead and just south of Missoula, pick up US 12 west over Lolo Pass. Spend the night in Missoula first. This is one of the best rides in the country. 77 miles of twisties!

That spits you into the middle of Idaho. Ride until you pick up US 95 and go north to Coeur d'Alene. Spend the night there, by the lake if you can. Then you're on I-90, which will take you back to MN.

EDIT: Montana has some of the best riding in the country. It's the fourth largest state, but has less than a million people, and less than 200 state troopers (working three shifts). If you like exploring two-lane America, Montana will not disappoint. Most folks who come out here are interested in the national parks first. But, you've already done YNP, and Glacier is a quick ride (unless you get out and hike. GNP is really a park for hiking.) So if you are interested in riding the wide open high plains and from one "island range" to another, there's no shortage of that here. Hard to go wrong, really.