I realize this is pitiful compared to the trips you guys take, but a man has to start somewhere!! I'm flying into Denver a week from Tuesday (23rd) to meet my brother for an impromptu road trip. In general, here is our thought: Wed - head west toward SLC area. Th - head north to Jackson WY (a place that I have been desperate to see for a long time). Fri - Yellowstone/SW MT. Sat - head back to Denver for Sunday 1am flight. We are snowmobilers at heart, so we're primarily scouting for a good area to return to in the winter. Other than that we're looking to see as much as we can in the little time that we have. I'd LOVE to find an off-road bike rental place for a few hours, but he would need ATVs or something else as he generally does not ride 2 wheels. Anything like that in existence? Any things in these general areas that we should make sure we check out? We're open to any and all suggestions!
You really should check out Togwotee lodge northeast of Jackson Hole. Great place to backcountry snowmobile.
From north of SLC turn east at around Brigham City onto Hwy 89 and take that up by Bear Lake and over to Star Valley (Smoot, Afton, Alpine etc.) before following the Snake River at Alpine into Jackson. You are going to be doing cubic mega mileage on Fri & Sat to get from Jackson going north of Yellowstone and back to Denver. Be aware that Yellowstone has major traffic jams in places that will kill your time. All of Eastern Idaho & Western Wyo is major Snowmachine area, with of course West Yellowstore being more or less the Snowmachine tourist capitol of the region.
My first thought is that you're going to be doing lots of riding on this trip, and may not have much time for "recon". A basic Google Maps loop of your basic route shows a 1,700 mile loop. It'll probably end up being 2,000 miles or better when you're done. that means you'll be riding 400 to 500 miles per day on this trip. map link You may want to pull back a bit and either drop Salt Lake, or drop Southern Montana in order to allow more time to enjoy the ride. Something to keep in mind, anyway...
Lots of places in Northern UT rent Dirt Bikes and ATVs. Try Google... Expect around $100 per day, with some discounts for multi-day rentals. As for snowmobiling; anywhere out West is awesome! Be aware that your trail skills will be useless here, as there are very few actual "trails". It's just one big open playground, once the snow starts to accumulate. Monte Cristo and Bear Lake areas offer some of the best riding conditions you'll ever find for mountain riding. But again, it took me some time to un-learn how to ride NE trails, and learn how to carve, and not get stuck in 10' of snow. A GPS is essential here, and survival gear will be a little different than what you'd carry in the NE (i.e. you *will* need a shovel).
I live 2 hours west of Denver in the mountains. If you're going west on I-70, you could make a quick side trip down 91 (exit 195 for Leadville). All of the back country (except for wilderness areas) is really popular with sledders. All of the smaller pass roads (Hagerman, Cottonwood, Tincup, Weston, etc,etc) close to traffic in the fall and sledders like to tour them in the winter. There's also tons of old mining roads-endless possibilities. Do some research about avalanches before you come. Sledding in the west can be dangerous. Might be a good idea to get an avalanche beacon and of course, don't go into the back country with just one sled. Best to go in pairs or grouped in case you have a break down. Beautiful back there, have fun.
You gotta remember that our states are a whole lot bigger than those little states back east. You are going to have some long days I would personally never consider. BTW, why go to Salt Lake City?
It never ceases to amaze me how people will come into Trip Planning, ask a question, then never return...
He may have looked at a map and realized it wouldn't happen as planned . And I agree SLC WHY? the closest I ever want to get was Promentory and we came in from the west on dirt roads . Rode thru Jackson last month , can you say RipOff city . 95 bucks for a 35 $ motel room , worst excuse for Mexican food I have ever had in my life . The only place I have ever been where the refried beans were the best thing on the plate and they always suck . The motel was rated by others as the best bargain in town , it was nice but it was a 35 dollar a nite motel , thats all . I have been there and dont have to go back . Ystone was ok early in the morning , as I headed out west around mid day it was a traffic jam coming in . Montana on the other hand was awsome . My 4 days allocated for Montana then onto the PNW turned into two weeks in Montana . I ended up riding 1500 miles in the Bitterroot valley and adjoining hills and loved every bit of it . I crossed Colorado's north west side and headed for Utah on 131 then up the east side of Flaming George .Interesting ride , The pavement ends at the Utah state line . SEYA
Thanks for the replies, guys. With your help have our route planned, and we're prepared to adjust as necessary. Staying at Togwotee Friday night! Looking forward to that and hoping to have time to rent a mountain bike and see how elevation like that affects us. We've never been over 6,300ft. Thanks!
