Riding Areas Near Yellowstone???

I don't know too much about that area, but I know that the St. Anthony sand dunes aren't too far away. When I was at St. Anthony last year and I snowed we decided to drive to Yellowstone, it wasn't that long of a drive.

Originally posted by Smit-Dog
My wife's side of the family is planning on a 2-week camping trip out to Yellowstone this summer.

I am wondering if anyone knows of any legal riding areas near Yellowstone. If my son and I could take our bikes, then the 2 weeks and the long drive out (from Michigan) would be worth it.

- Bill

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Do you happen to know where "near Yellowstone" you will be staying? I live in Utah and my family has a cabin in Island Park Idaho. That is where I learned to ride (old enduro bikes in the 70's and 80's). The general Island Park area starts about 12 miles outside of West Yellowstone just past the Montana/Idaho Border. Our cabin is about 25 miles from West Yellowstone and we ride for miles directly from our cabin's front door. It is one of my favorite places to ride, but primarily for "nostalgia" reasons, more than the quality/variety of riding. To my knowledge there are no true single-track trails in the area but there are a lot of ATV trails and a ton of dirt forest roads (good to ride with the kids, but only fun for their scenic value if you like to really get on the throttle).

As you may know, in the winter, the area is an incredibly popular snowmobiling destination. In the summer, many of the snowmobile trails are legal ATV trails. There is a an old railroad grade that they have turned into a multi-use trail that goes from West Yellowstone all the way to Island Park. It is very scenic, but otherwise not real challenging. However, there are a lot of spurs off of that trail along with some fun play areas (gravel pits) and powerline access roads. I know the immediate Island Park area very very well, but couldn't tell you much about riding areas directly outside of Yellowstone.

Find out where you're staying for sure and drop me a line at mandjknight@yahoo.com. If you'll be near Island Park I can give you some specific directions to some trails/trailheads.

Also, as previously mentioned, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes are about an hour from Island Park and are great fun if you enjoy riding dunes. I guarantee you, you will not find bigger bowls at any other dune riding area.

Take the bikes....

I second the motion of mkinght.
There are lots of really cool areas around Island Park, with miles of forest service roads to explore. Be sure to check out Sawtel Mtn. if you can still get to the top of it, beautiful views.
There would nothing worse then not to take them and regret it when you got there.:eek:

If you're driving a truck and have room for the bikes or are pulling a trailer, then you should definitely bring them, especially if you're going to be around for 2 weeks. Obviously inside of Yellowstone there are no riding areas, but if you want to spend a few days or the portion of a few days driving 10 or 20 miles outside of town, you will be able to ride.

I know that if I were coming all the way from Michigan and was spending two weeks of vacation in the area, it would be torture without my bike :-)

A couple of years ago my inlaws took all of us to Carlsbad/Oceanside area of California to stay in a condo on the beach for a week. I tell you what....after one day I had enough of the beach and was just itching for a ride in the Southern California desert/hills. Don't make the same mistake :p

Regarding the "bear problems" in Yellowstone, I wouldn't worry about it unless you're staying directly inside of Yellowstone and are camping. Even then, the majority of "problems" occur in the backcountry rather than the more prevalent campground areas (but that doesn't mean it can't happen). If you're staying in West Yellowstone then I wouldn't worry about it. The funny thing, in 25 years of going up to that area, the only bear I have ever seen in the wild was on the front porch of our cabin one morning (in Island Park), and not in Yellowstone.

There isn't a whole lot of info on motorized trails and opportunities in Island Park, but there are a few:

http://www.utahatvtrails.com/ATV.html (this is a great site a guy in Utah has created, but he does have a description of one of the rides I was referring to in Island Park....click on Trails on the left navigation bar and then scroll down til you find the Island Park Idaho link)

http://www.islandparknews.com (website for local newspaper)

http://www.islandparkidaho.com/

http://www.westyellowstonenet.com/island_park/community.htm

(Obviously within those sites, there are numerous other links as well).

Have fun.

Mike

Plenty of griz in YSNP, and even more on the fringes. And they are getting bolder, especially on the Cody side. Always expect to see them, and I wouldn't go anywhere in those areas without a large can of pepper spray at ready. I've had plenty of bear experiences.

I photograph wildlife every October-November in YSNP and Glacier for about four weeks, leaving the bikes at home. I don't see any riding being done on the north end in the areas of Gardiner, Paradise Valley, and Cooke City, although I keep looking. Many trail heads around here in the national forests lead to wilderness areas. The wilderness areas do not allow motors of any kind. But I would think you could ride some of these trails that lead to the wilderness areas. In other parts of Wyoming you can. But not sure in the YSNP border areas.

The snowmobilers ride the fringes of YSNP in many areas, according to what I have heard. I'd like to know more about the riding access in this area also. I'd especilly like to ride the Sunlight Basin, outside the park, on the NE side. This is gorgeous land and much of it is public. Anybody know anything?