gamecock

Does anyone know of a good route with campgrounds and/or other accomodations?

fietsbob

ACA is the ORG join they are in MISSOULA MT.
route research is what they do. and they publish Maps.

state departments of transportation publish Maps . those are free.

do you read maps?





?

indyfabz

Not direct, but Adventure Cycling's Great Parks North route to Columbia Falls/Whitefish, Northern Tier Route to near Anacortes then Pacific Coast Route to one of the islands (maybe Bremerton) then ferry to downtown Seattle.


Or you could head west through St. Regis, MT then take a combination of roads and unpaved trails rail-trails (Route of the Olympian, NorPac, etc.) to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene in Mullan, ID then eventually U.S. 2 through Levenworth and over Stevens Pass. (I am planning the Missoula to Wallace, ID portion right now for a trip this spring.) Personally, I not sure I would want to spend that much time on U.S. 2.


Yet another option is from Wallace, ID is to take Thompson Pass to Thompson Falls, MT then ride NW to pick up ACA's Northern Tier route mentioned above at the junction of MT 200 and MT 56. (I have that mapped out as well.)

jamawani 

When are you planning on doing this?
Time of year makes a difference.

What kind of touring experience do you have?
Are you looking at 40-mile days, 60-mile, 80-mile?

Are you willing to do any unpaved sections or bike trails?
If you are on skinny tires with little experience, perhaps not.

gamecock

I guess I should have been more clear. I have been an ACA member for more years than I want to admit, and I have the maps from Mammoth Cave NP to Missoula. Indyfabz anticipated, and answered more or less. What I really need to know is would the Northern Tier route to Anacortes or the Lewis and Clark to the Sierra Cascades to the Washington Parks be superior to a Google map, or Mapquest map. I think I like the idea of the ferry south to Seattle.

gamecock

Rivendell Sam Hillbourne with 15,000 miles one it. Tires, chain, rings, freewheel, brakes, cables, etc. to be replaced in April for an April 30 departure.

jamawani 

Mid-June is early in the Northern Rockies.
Especially in a big-winter year - which this year is turning out to be.
And for a gamecock from the land of palmettos swaying in the breeze.

If you are departing from Mammoth Cave on April 30-
that would put you in Pueblo in late May.
If you are departing from Yorktown - more like mid June.
A late May to mid June transit from Pueblo to Missoula could be challenging.

If you want to connect with the Northern Tier from Missoula may I suggest:
Hwy 200 to Thompson Falls
Thompson Pass Road to Cataldo
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes to Plummer
(Paved with lakeside camping in Harrison - spectacular)
Paved county road via Fairfield & Spangle to Cheney
(Skipping Spokane - unless you really want to hit the city)
Thru Medical Lake to Deep Creek and US 2
Excellent stretches of Old Sunset Highway to Davenport
Then continue on US 2 to Grand Coulee Dam.
(Make sure to cut down to Steamboat to see the stunning Grand Coulee)
Hwy 174, Hwy 17, Hwy 173 to Brewster
Then US 97 and Hwy 153 to Twisp and Northern Tier
(Excellent paved back roads in Methow Valley)

Can't say for sure what the weather will be -
But if you are riding the Rockies in late spring, you will welcome sun and warmth.
The stretch from Deep Creek to Pateros is on the Columbia Plateau.
If you head straight to the Northern Tier from Missoula you will not get much warmth.

June Averages -
Republic - 74/43; Grand Coulee - 79/53

I live in Wyoming -
I have frequently gone x-c skiing on fresh snow in early June.
I have ridden every county in Washington and know the roads pretty well.
Same goes for N. Idaho and W. Montana.

If you are interested, I'll give you more detailed info.

Trail of the CdA:
Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path in the Idaho Panhandle

Old Sunset Highway:
https://www.sunset-hwy.com/images/dav...davenport6.jpg

gamecock

Thanks jamawani. I'm leaving from near Knoxville, and plan to hit the TA at Mammoth Cave NP. I am taking a good look at the ACA maps from Missoula to Whitefish to Anacortes. My sister lives near Seattle and recommends the ferries and the rides on the islands. Thanks again, I may be in touch.

indyfabz

In my haste yesterday I forgot to mention that you could simply take U.S. 93 north to MT 200 west which, as mentioned above, would put you on the Northern Tier at the junction of MT 200 and MT 56. Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for this route as I have not ridden it.


If you do go to Whitefish and have a few extra days, you might want to head east to Glacier National Park and ride up and back down the west side of Going to the Sun. You could spend a couple days at Sprague Creek or Avalanche Campground in the park and ride GTS without your gear then head back west to Whitefish and continue west on the Northern Tier.

gamecock

I've been to Glacier NP in the car, camped a couple of nights, and may take your advice. Indyfaz

indyfabz

I've climbed the west side 3 times, including back in 2009. Great ride, especially without gear. I prefer to stay at Sprague Creek Campground because its small, has several tent pads for hikers/bikers and is within walking distance from Lake McDonald Lodge. That latter feature is not as important now thanks to the shuttle service in the park, but I like to be able to set my own schedule.


As I think I mentioned, I am planning a loop out of Missoula. Part of the plan is to ride the portion of the Northern Tier east from MT 200/MT 56 through Libby, Eureka and Whitefish and then head to Glacier to ride the west slope again before doubling back and heading to Bigfork then back to Missoula. May decide to skip Glacier and instead do a loop through Kootenai National Forest from Troy to Libby. Think they have been getting a good amount of snow in the park so there is a chance that GTS won't be open by the time I am scheduled to ride it. Faced that back in 2009. The pass wasn't open at the beginning of the 4th week in June so we had to ride from St. Mary on the east side of the park all the way to Sprague Creek via Looking Glass and Marias Pass (nearly 100 miles) in one day. The next day they opened the west side of GTS all the way to Logan pass so we were at least able to ride that portion.

Ty0604

If you want to make it really easy you can take US 12 from Lolo, MT to Morton, WA then Highway 7 (aka Mountain Highway) to Eatonville then Highway 161 (aka Meridian) into Tacoma and then a ferry to Vashon Island then ride to the ferry on the other side of Vashon and take the ferry to West Seattle and bike to Renton from there.

US 12 runs over Lolo Pass in Idaho/Montana and White Pass in Washington. It connects Aberdeen, WA to Detroit and can get repetitive being on the same road for so long.

I followed it a lot on my tour last summer. Was glad to see the end of it in Michigan. Before I-90 and I-94 it was the main thoroughfare but has obviously been supplanted by the interstates.

Rollfast

Right now you'll want a 4x4 and lots of cherry syrup for ice cones...real winter has finally come, courtesy of our crazy chick La Nina.