joemastro

Hi All:

I was wondering if I can get some advice on touring a shorter portion of the Divide. Keeping in mind that I am a relative beginner to off road touring; do any of you have any recommendations for a section that can be ridden in roughly 5 - 7 days? I would like to have reasonable access to services - food, camping, etc.

I have been trying to plan something on the Montana portion of the divide. I’m looking at riding the section between Helena and Whitefish this summer. Does anyone have any thoughts on this section?

Any advice you can give will be a great help.

Thanks in advance.

indyfabz

Can't comment on the actual riding, but I did do another road tour in some of that area last June. There are ample supplies in Seeley Lake, including a good grocery store. If you need to go into town and spend the night, the motor lodge at the very north end of town also has camping with showers and bathroom behind the building. The other grocery options north of there have relatively limited supplies--until you get to Bigfork, which is slightly off route. There you will find Wayfarers State Park. It's one of the 5 state parks in the state that have special hiker-biker sights and a no turn away policy. The hiker/biker area is very nice. Covered picnic table with power outlets and a bike repair clamp attached to it, water, bear lockers, raised pea gravel tent pads with good shade. $12 for non-residents + $3 if you want a shower. (Just make sure you buy the shower token at the entrance. If you have to backtrack to the park entrance to buy one you will regret having to go back over the camel's hump twice. Ask me how I know.) From there to Whitefish you are never far from civilization. Whitefish Lake State Park at the west end of town has the same hiker/biker amenities as Bigfork.

Sunset at Wayfarers

Cyclist0108

I haven't done it yet, but I did get a copy of this book, which I think would help you out if you don't already have it:



One thing I picked up is that the northern portion is likely to be snowed in until July.

L134 

Did Banff to Whitefish in 2018 and Helena to Whitefish in 2019. Each ride was in your timeframe with reasonable access to things you have mentioned. Lots of other cyclists as well. Whitefish Bike Retreat is a great starting/stopping point. I had a blast on both sections. I had never done off road touring before and didn’t know anyone else interested so chose to do ACA’s tour in 2018 to get my introduction. 3 of us that met on 2018 tour did the 2019 tour together but there are plenty of other riders to meet up with if one is in to that sort of thing. As I recall, a good number of people out there with no previous touring experience period, let alone off road. Very doable.

joemastro

Great information indyfabz, thank you. Beautiful sunset too.

Wgscott, I just purchased McCoy’s book. Looking forward to getting some information from that. I’m planning the trip in the beginning of August so I should be snow free.

L134 

Oh, and absolutely read this: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...id=467250&v=Zh

indyfabz

Yes. You won't have to worry about snow. Just be mindful of hail.

Whitefish Lake S.P. last June.

joemastro

Oh jeeez! That is certainly some hail.

joemastro

Its nice to know there will be other riders on the trail. I did want to do one of ACA tours but it's cost prohibitive and right now they're all booked up. So solo it is.

The plan now is to ride north from Helena and end at the Whitefish Bike Retreat. Actually looking forward to visiting that place. I've seen and read so many things about it.

djb

great recommendation, I was about to mention Tim Towers trip journal, simply because he is so detailed. His information is very helpful for getting a sort of recent take on where stores are. I didnt look at the date but I think he did this maybe 3 or 4 years ago, so there may be some changes, but still a good idea of what the route is like.

indyfabz

True. In 2017 I there were two guys at Whitefish Lake who were riding it south. Later met a guy in Columbia Falls who was doing part of it. There was also a guy at Wayfarers who was riding south.

indyfabz

If you have time you should consider building in a few days to ride to Glacier N.P. It's an easy day's ride from Whitefish. Just make sure you take the back way (North Fork Rd. to Blankenship Rd. to Lake 5 to the frontage road and paved bike path that parallel U.S 2), which has some nice, unpaved riding. There is a section of U.S. 2 between Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse that has no shoulder, and traffic will be heavy. You can set up camp at Sprague Creek Campground (smaller) or Avalanche Campground (much larger) and ride up and back down the west side of Going to the Sun Road the next day. Sprague Creek has hiker/biker sites in the middle of the one loop. I believe Avalanche also has a few. Avalanche is a shorter ride to Logan Pass but not close to services like Sprague Creek (you can walk to Lake McDonald Lodge from there), although there is free shuttle. Return to Whitefish on day 3.

L134 

We did exactly that trip last year in July. My sense is that there were far more southbound riders than northbound if your hope is to join up with others. On both trips, we had outstanding weather but, I think, one should realize it can snow any time of year in the mountains and on both trips we had temperatures in the 30’s.

joemastro

The photos from Going to the Sun Road are amazing. Definitely something to think about. I would have to shorten the whole trip to have time to do this though.

The elevation profile is what has me thinking South to North would be better. Seems more down hill going North. There are airports at both ends so it doesn't really matter which end I start at I suppose.

Definitely was not thinking 30's. High 40's maybe but not 30's. I'll keep this in mind when planning.