Jackson Hole, WY cycling vacation

[thenewguy11]

I'm kicking around the idea of a family trip to Jackson Hole this summer the first week of July. My wife gets the ski vacation in the winter so I'd like something that has a strong cycling component, along with some family fun. The plan would be to get three road rides in that week and do a day trip to Yellowstone. I would also like to do some kid friendly (7 and 4 years old) hikes maybe in the Grand Tetons.

But I've never been to Jackson Hole, so a couple of questions. What are the classic rides in the area? Should I mountain bike instead or a mix of the two?

I originally looked into something like Trek Travel but they have a minimum age of 6, so am kind of doing it on my own. I'd appreciate any thoughts.

[uber]

I can't help you with the cycling, but my family and I had a great vacation there some years ago. An alpine slide for the kids, a rodeo and whitewater rafting all right there. Horseback riding too. Yellowstone is amazing. Have a great time.

[weisan]

new pal, I started a thread and posed a similar question several years ago, hope this will help you. The only difference is, mine has no cycling component, it was focused on the family and the kids. It was one of the best family vacations we have taken.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=90929&highlight=yellowstone

[Clancy]

Lots of dedicated bikes lanes, one from Jackson that goes into and through the park. The loop through the park, out at Moose Junction and back to Jackson is spectacular, I believe a 60-65 mile loop. July is the peak, so expect bumper to bumper at times, especially when any animal is sighted - traffic jam. Theres nice shoulders with a speed limit of 45 mph but the monster RV's can still crowd you. There's great hiking from easy to moderate so plenty for the kids. The Jenny Lake Loop is noe of my favorites. The Tetons are my favorite National Park and I've been going since 1978, maybe 20+ times, went last September and had great riding. The local ski resort does downhill so that's also an option for MTB.

Jackson has become uber expensive and the park often overcrowded. Getting off the beaten track is easy and you'll find your peace and quiet that way. But you do have to seek it out. One study of the traffic pattern found 98% of people never ventured more than a 1/2 mile from pavement.

Yellowstone is one of the most majestic wonders of the world, hard to overstate that. But it's even more crowded in July. It will be very hard to drive through in a day simply because of the traffic jams.

[cmbicycles]

Take the family on a trail ride, horses that is. My better half worked as a wrangler for a summer at Colter Bay years ago and they do a trail/meal ride that was always well received.

[Mzilliox]

there is one flattish ride you have to do. i love this ride. its called spring gluch road and runs by the golf course, then through some of the most stunning ranch land in America. the vistas of the Tetons and Snake are everywhere. It starts and stops right in town and gets you out away from the bike pathers. right in that area is a slew of side roads and dirt roads should you want to kill more time or extend your ride.

then in the parks (don't neglect teton park, the lesser cousin, its stunning and less crowded) use the bike to get to some areas where people are not. there is some awesome climbing in teton park, but i can't recal the roads.

book a fly fishing trip. i used to guide there and can say you will catch fish on your trip. there are over 10000 trout per mile in the Snake. plus you get the benefits of the raft trip.

the art galleries are really cool.

the food is good but very expensive.

The town has kept its overall feel in the last 10 years, but it is still growing and turning over new businesses like crazy.

former local tip: try and rent one of the old ski cabins in the village. they are often cheap in summer and really big and well appointed. we housed everyone in them for my wedding, it ended up being half as expensive as hotels. now when i go back to visit with family this is what we do.

[old fat man]

new pal, I started a thread and posed a similar question several years ago, hope this will help you. The only difference is, mine has no cycling component, it was focused on the family and the kids. It was one of the best family vacations we have taken.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=90929&highlight=yellowstone

What did your final route end up looking like? Someday soon I hope to drive from Connecticut to Montana where we have family. We usually fly, but doing the road trip and seeing some of those parks with our boys would be amazing.

Regarding Jackson Hole, you should look into an overnight closer to Yellowstone. I stayed in Cooke City which is near Beartooth Pass when I rode across the country and it was a great, quiet entrance/exit to Yellowstone. Plus, the option to ride Beartooth Pass, or Dead Indian Pass will scratch your cycling itch: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=tS&pic_id=323158&size=large&v=1k

[Climb01742]

I'm kicking around the idea of a family trip to Jackson Hole this summer the first week of July. My wife gets the ski vacation in the winter so I'd like something that has a strong cycling component, along with some family fun. The plan would be to get three road rides in that week and do a day trip to Yellowstone. I would also like to do some kid friendly (7 and 4 years old) hikes maybe in the Grand Tetons.

But I've never been to Jackson Hole, so a couple of questions. What are the classic rides in the area? Should I mountain bike instead or a mix of the two?

I originally looked into something like Trek Travel but they have a minimum age of 6, so am kind of doing it on my own. I'd appreciate any thoughts.

An aside that may be less impactful because you live in Denver: a few years ago I went to Jackson on a business trip. While there, I ran...or I should say I tried to run. The altitude even at the valley floor is about 7000 ft and I wasn't acclimatized at all. Just something to consider as you think about riding in Jackson. That aside, it's one of the prettiest, most dramatic settings in America.

[malcolm]

July will be packed. GTNP much less than Yellowstone but still crowded. There is a long path just outside Jackson heading toward Yellowstone/Teton and several paths inside GTNP not so much Yellowstone. It's an awesome place but in my opinion July is the worst time to go, still worth doing. It's amazing how much the tourist flow increases between late may and late june or july. We were there twice last summer, once in late June and it was busy then again in July three weeks later and the numbers had over doubled.
If you do go into the parks, go early, the hordes generally start showing up around 10.
For me I would not bike but concentrate on hiking.
Also consider Glacier, better hiking and fewer crowds. Hard to go wrong in that part of the country though.

[bking]

I don't think i'd bike in yellowstone in summer, especially with children. The shoulders in much of the park are narrow to non existant, and too many very distracted drivers.
The bike path mentioned above in Grand Tetons is very nice, and family friendly. you can also find some great gravel/dirt roads in the Teton area.
As others have mentioned, i'd drive and hike in Yellowstone--mother natures Disneyland.

[weisan]

What did your final route end up looking like?

Old pal, we pretty much stuck to the final revised schedule.

Tue 5/24 Day 1: St Louis, MO to Pueblo, CO

Wed 5/25 Day 2 Durango, Silverton - Train; Shorter trip, return by bus, back by 2:30pm, Night: Durango

Thurs 5/26 Day 3 Durango - Mesa Verde AM; Arches PM; Night: Salt Lake

Fri 5/27 Day 4 - Grand Teton NP, Explore PM; Night: Jackson WY

Sat 5/28 Day 5 - Grand Teton NP, Hike around Jenny Lake, Boat ride, Whole Day; Night: Jackson, WY

Sun 5/29 Day 6 - Yellowstone Nat. Pk, Explore PM, Ranger talk; Night: Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone

Mon 5/30 Day 7 - Yellowstone Nat. Pk, Roosevelt, Mammoth Hot Springs, Gardiner; Night: Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone

Tues 5/31 Day 8 - Yellowstone Nat. Pk, Yellowstone Falls, Lower & Upper, Old Faithful; Night: Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone

Wed 6/1 Day 9 - Beartooth, Chief Joseph, Red Lodge, Cody, Devils Tower, Rushmore; Night: Black Hills, SD

Thurs 6/2 Day 10 - Badlands NP, Wall Drugs; Night: Rapid City, SD or lodging inside park

Fri 6/3 Day 11 - Drive Home, St Louis.

[Mr. Pink]

Ride Teton Park one day. Mellow. Ride Teton pass another day. Not mellow. Hike Teton park the other days, hiking is much better than biking. Go to Yellowstone a day or two, DO NOT BIKE. Find a few nice hikes, get out of the car, which may very well be stuck behind gapers gaping at wildlife.
Enjoy. A very beautiful place. Get away from people though. They get n the way.

[malcolm]

One other thing if you have time go over Teton Pass into Idaho, nice drive. Driggs and some of the other small towns are cool. Hamburger place going into Driggs on your left is very good. If you're a beer drinker an afternoon at grand teton brewery is a must, great front porch, several non alcoholic offerings so it's good for the whole family. Look for it on the right before you get to Driggs.

[Clancy]

Ride Teton Park one day. Mellow. Ride Teton pass another day. Not mellow. Hike Teton park the other days, hiking is much better than biking. Go to Yellowstone a day or two, DO NOT BIKE. Find a few nice hikes, get out of the car, which may very well be stuck behind gapers gaping at wildlife.
Enjoy. A very beautiful place. Get away from people though. They get n the way.

+1 on everything stated

[redir]

Ah memories od when I did Geology field camp in the Red Hills. Beautiful area. I wish I had a bike to ride when I was there. I cannot offer too much advice on riding except to say I persoanlly would much rather have a mountain bike then a road bike out there. Seems to me that the road riding would jsut be long out and back trips, it would be beautiful I'm sure, but you would see the same beauty from a mountain bike and have all kinds of peacefully quiet trails to ride.

Also personally, I would just totally avoid Yellowstone. If you don't mind sitting in traffic and crowds of people that's different (and I was there in the 90,s probably worse today) but otherwise, yes the geyser and pools are really cool, but it's a big disappointment especially if you are short on time. Yellowstone should be saved for the off season.