Help,were coming to America.

Laura and I will be riding into the good old U S of A on July 12th or 13th entering near Cardston on route 89. Our over all plan is to ride the sun road and then stay on the Northern leg through Idaho and Washington State. We are looking for help with roads to ride with the best scenery, history etc. It could be Lakes with beaches,Ghost towns or any thing you have found interesting. We have 2 weeks to get home so deviating off the chosen path would not be a problem. Thank you all for any suggestions. Ben

[Cajunrider]

Don't know much about Montana but my parents visited Glacier Park and loved it. You can enter the park at the St. Mary entrance off of 89 and ride the "Going to the Sun Highway". I've always heard how beautiful it is. At the St. Mary entrance they can tell you if the entire highway is opened. I've heard that they have to blast the snow from it every year and it is usually completely opened in late June or early July. I don't know how far South you are heading but Yellowston Park in NW Wyoming is great. I've been there several years ago. Beautiful scenery anywhere you go. If you are going towards South Dakota, visit Custer State Park and ride the Black Hills. Several of the members live in the SD, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado area. They can be more help in telling you about placed off the beaten path. Good luck and ride safely.

Thanks CR, but we are going to try and stay to the north side of Montana, Idaho and Washinton state. I remember going through Yellowstone when I was young and I remember it being very hot. As for Glacier park, we will ride through it at the start of the northern leg.

[cyclecat]

From Kalispell, on the other side of Glacier park, there are a couple of options for great rides. Go south to Missoula and head west through the Lolo pass into Idaho or go north-west from Kalispell, through Libby and into Washington. Take Highway 20 all the way across the top end of Washington and come out at the coast. A bit cooler in northern Washington, compared to the south, and Highway 20 is a very nice ride.

Southern Idaho and Washington is going to be hot, not August hot, but warmer than Alberta in July. We got caught in a bad heat wave 4 years ago around Walla Walla, Washington and the temps by noon were at 120 and still at 85 the next morning at 6:00; not pleasant to ride in.

The highway going by Grand Coulee Dam is a nice ride also.

Go to the North-west board and post your question there. There a quite a few guys that live in Washington that can tell you a lot more.

[cyclecat]

Oh Mitch, you have never seen anything like the Going-To-The-Sun highway unless you've ridden on a Nomad on it. We live 50 miles from the Logan Pass and it is a Saturday ride for us. The road is literally built on the side of the mountains and the views are fantastic. If you take a look at my sig line, the scenery behind the Nomads is just a minuscule view of what the scenery is like on the Pass. We've ridden a lot of places in North America and have yet to see anything like the Logan Pass; the Rockies are a sight to see if you've never seen them up close or ridden through them.

Many people that live in Alberta and BC take our scenery for granted but Brian and I are still amazed at the scenery on the Pass and we've ridden it for years. The first thing that always amazes me is this: once you get half way around the first hairpin turn on the east side of the Pass, there is a smell that hits you. I call it the mountain smell - pine trees, grass, flowers, the lake, bear crap, whatever it is, the combination is wonderful and amazing.

Everyone that is coming to the rally in August in Kalispell is in for a ride of a lifetime over the Logan Pass. I'm sure everyone will be just as amazed as we constantly are when riding the Going-To-The-Sun highway.

Thanks Cyclecat, do you recall any great stops along the way.Any idea if their is a ferry crossing from the Washington coast to the Island.

[ballast]

if you make it to the I-5 of WA, Mt Rainier is not far. I have a spare room if you need a base to rest nearby. I am sure netnorske will have good ideas for north of Seattle.

[Netnorske]

A must-do ride up in the northern part of the state is Hwy 20 from Winthrop, WA to Rockport ....or as far west as you want to go. You could ride all the way out to Whidbey Island and cruise over Deception Pass. You will want to get off the bikes to walk out on it once over it....it is very cool.

You could take Port Townsend Ferry from Whidbey Island and continue right out 101 to the NW tip of the state at Neah Bay...or continue down 101 the entire Washington Coast. It's all a great ride! I too have an extra room at our home in Everett if you need a place to crash out....always welcome. Have fun...I'm still not home from the SW Rally but almost (Sunday). I am currently in Missoula and rode one of the most amazing motorcycle roads known to man.....Hwy 93 from Arco, ID to Salmon, ID. Just spectacular the entire way....riding nirvana hardly describes it! That has to go on everyones bucket list...somewhere near the top!

[schoeney]

Hi Ben,

I am excited for you! 2 week trips would be a blast. Most I can usually get away with is 5-6 days.

I agree with Cycle Cat regarding HWY 20. Hwy 200 through Clark Fork and around the top of Lake Ponderay is a blast and scenic. from there you catch HWY 2 briefly then hit HWY 20 west.

I love the ride along HWY 20 all the way into Kettle Falls. If you turn south at Kettle Falls HWY 25 runs along the water for about 40 miles or more. When I rode it last year saw almost no traffic. If you take this route you could wind down to Grand Coulee Dam then take some great secondary roads back to HWY20 and take HWY20 into Anacortes/Whidbey Island area.

From there you could ride HWY 20 on Whidbey Island down to Keystone to catch the ferry to Port Townsend. Port Townsend is a great little town with lots of character, good food, on the water, shops, etc.

Next you could take HWY 101 to Port Angeles and catch the ferry to Victoria.

This is just a suggested route on roads I have ridden. You will have many options with different opinions on which is best...but none are wrong...it is a great place to ride in the summer!

Let us know your itinerary and maybe some of us could meet up with you for a meal, coffee, or part of your ride.

Have a great time!!!!!

[schoeney]

Darn it Kris...you beat my post by 1 minute!!

[cyclecat]

Way too long ago to remember exact spots to stay or see since we've been so many more places in the last 4 years. I can remember going through a lot of very nice countryside and small towns; Grand Coulee Dam was nice, miles and miles of grain fields above the dam and coming down off of Shermans Pass into a town called Republic. It was hot that day but the pass was considerably cooler than the flat land and as we came down a hill into Republic, the heat hit us. It wasn't unbearable until we hit the 50 miles of nice, brand new, black pavement.

Yes there is a ferry from Port Angeles to Vancouver Island. Quite a nice ferry ride and it wasn't that much in cost. Once you get on the mainland, Highway 3 goes across the bottom of BC and is a nicer ride in my opinion than the Trans-Canada.

Victoria and Vancouver are beautiful cities and both have a great many things to see and do.

[1badbagger]

I live in southern Idaho and used to live in north Idaho. Lolo (Hwy 12) is always a great ride. But if your going to take 90 across the top of Idaho and then into Washington, I suggest you take the cut-off at Hwy 97 and go around Lake Coeur d'Alene the St. Joe River. Nice little loop that will take you 1/2 day or more to go around, but the lake and river are great and the roads nice and twisty. Sounds like that would keep you on your course and would be a nice side road.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I never rode in Washington or Idaho but drove an 18 wheeler through both states many times. There is nice scenery about anywhere you care to look. I would definitely say to see Mount Ranier. Can't remember if Mount St. Helens is in Washington or Oregon but it would be well worth seeing. Idaho has some great scenery and the potato fields when they are being irigated is a sight to see. I somehow missed Montana by about 30 miles. Should have driven on up and at least crossed the state line. I might have gotten a fine if the company didn't have a permit to enter Montana.

[duneseven]

I would have to also recommend the road to the sun . LOLO PASS should not be missed usually lots of traffic though. WINTHROP should be included ,Grand coulee is amazing maybe also stay late and catch the lases light show on the dam after dark. One of my personal favorite roads is hwy 21 south from republic it meanders along the sanpoi lriver for 40+ miles then a ferry ride across the mighty columbia. A state park is located there. then the best part . The road is called keller grade it climbs rapidly up and if your speed is too much you may run over your own back tire. it cover maybe 6 miles. Ride it once for the view then retrack for a little thrill.

ballast and netnorske thank you for the invite. If we do get close to your areas we will at least try and meet up with you. We carry a small laptop with us so we can contact you via this site or e-mail.I will have more questions as we finalize our route. A big thank you to everyone for your info.