Colorado/Wyoming/South Dakota

[Rob (from Hoosierville)]

Greetings from Hoosierville,

I'll be riding out to Denver the last week of July and heading back to Hoosierville the first week of August through Wyoming and South Dakota. I've researched some scenic byways, including Spearfish Canyon and the Black Hills, but haven't found much between Denver and Spearfish Canyon or between the Badlands and Pierre, SD.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any input,

Rob (from Hoosierville)

[Austin city limits]

From Indiana???

My Opinion???

Take RT 36 across Kansas... Not maybe great but,,, the best option across Kansas... ;)

If you are in Sturgis heading back take off through Nebraska... Yeah,,, I said Nebraska...

RT 20 - Rt 27 turning South at Gordon... There are about 3 ways to head South off Rt 20... RT 250,,, RT 27,,, RT 61... They all give you about the same effect... What effect??? It it you,,, your bike,,, HUGE,,, Rolling sand hills covered in tall grass that you can zoom up and down and makes you feel like you are surfing... About 70 miles or so of like no towns,,, no traffic... Take it from me,,, after Sturgis,,, this is EXACTLY,,, what you need... :rolleyes:

Then,,, Take RT 2 across Nebraska... From there??? Sorry,,, no good options... :cool:

[Rob (from Hoosierville)]

Thanks for the tips. I won't be far enough south to take advantage of any Kansas roads, but I'll check into the Nebraska routes and see what I can fit in.

-Rob

[sundug]

If you are going to be in the Cody, WY area, and are a camper, you might want to check out the international Brotherhood of Motorcycle Campers National meet. www.ibmc.org Aug 1-5 and/or
http://www.webspawner.com/users/orcafool/index.html
Doug
http://community.webshots.com/user/sundug

[Putt]

Greetings from Hoosierville,

I'll be riding out to Denver the last week of July and heading back to Hoosierville the first week of August through Wyoming and South Dakota. I've researched some scenic byways, including Spearfish Canyon and the Black Hills, but haven't found much between Denver and Spearfish Canyon or between the Badlands and Pierre, SD.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any input,

Rob (from Hoosierville)

Rob,
From Denver:
Take I-25 (ugh) N to US-26, Head East to Gurnsey WY (stop and see
wagon ruts state park and signature rock) Continue East on 26 till you get to
US 85, go North to Lusk. At Lusk, take US 20 East to Crawford, NE (gas up)
At Crawford, pick up NE 2 and go North. It will cross into SD and become SD 71. Go thru Ardmore and continue up SD 71. You can stop at Cascade
State Park, (not much there but a small waterfall) a couple miles up the road
from Cascade, there is a little wayside on the West side of the road where you
can rest a bit and soak your feet in an cold water spring... 71 will take you
into the South side of Hot Springs SD, from there it is a short jaunt to the
Black Hills.. From the Badlands to Pierre, not a whole lot to see.....


Putt...

[Rob (from Hoosierville)]

NE2 & SD71 look like they're in some pretty desolate country. What kind of shape is the road in?

[Austin city limits]

As of last year all the roads were in good shape... They were working on RT 2 in some areas as I remember though...

Putt and I get to the same spot,,, just,,, I turn North and run through the Sand hills where he continues on RT 2... I end up catching the same road up through SD and 100% agree with Putt on this ride...

Desolate,,, is a GOOD thing as long as you fill your fuel tank... :rolleyes:

The first time through there I rode from Sturgis all the way to Ellsworth and it was after 5 pm on a Friday and the gas station was closed... :( Next town,,, same thing... :confused: I got to Hyannis at 7:55 pm and the gas station was closing in 5 minutes... :bow1: I would have slept,,, at the gas station till morning as I didn't have enough fuel to hardly leave town...

[Putt]

NE2 & SD71 look like they're in some pretty desolate country. What kind of shape is the road in?

The road is in pretty good shape... (unless it went to heck in the last year)


Putt..

[JourneyMan]

Rob,

You didn't say why you are going to Denver, but, I certainly hope you won't ride all the way to Denver and stop 15 miles short of the Rocky Mountains. Even if your schedule doesn't leave a lot of time for playing in the Rockies, from Denver you can ride the canyons near Golden, Boulder, Lyons and Loveland very easily. Heck, its less than two hours to Rocky Mountain National Park from Denver. Lots of cool destinations within one day's ride
of Denver.


Dale

[Putt]

Rob,

You didn't say why you are going to Denver, but, I certainly hope you won't ride all the way to Denver and stop 15 miles short of the Rocky Mountains. Even if your schedule doesn't leave a lot of time for playing in the Rockies, from Denver you can ride the canyons near Golden, Boulder, Lyons and Loveland very easily. Heck, its less than two hours to Rocky Mountain National Park from Denver. Lots of cool destinations within one day's ride
of Denver.


Dale

Dale is right, Clear Creek canyon (US RT 6) is a great ride from Golden to Idaho Springs, If you want, you can take "OH-MY-GOD" road from Idaho Springs
to Central City, then back down to RT. 6 and head back East towards Golden.
Of all the Interstates, I-70 West out of denver to Loveland Pass (don't take the Eisenhower tunnel, take RT 6 again up and over Loveland) is a great ride for an Interstate... So many roads... So little time...


Putt...

[Rob (from Hoosierville)]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll be in Denver (Littleton actually) for about three days prior to heading north for the back side of my trip. I'm planning on some quality riding time up in the mountains. I've been on Route 6 before but in a car. I'm looking forward to doing it on two wheels!

Dale - I'll be out there July 31st through August 3rd. How about I look you up when I'm there and you can show this flatlander a little scenery?

[Putt]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll be in Denver (Littleton actually) for about three days prior to heading north for the back side of my trip. I'm planning on some quality riding time up in the mountains. I've been on Route 6 before but in a car. I'm looking forward to doing it on two wheels!

Dale - I'll be out there July 31st through August 3rd. How about I look you up when I'm there and you can show this flatlander a little scenery?

I see a Mt. Evans trip in your future...

Putt...

[Titansrick]

I just spent 4000 miles on my bike in 7 days from Nashville. The Black Hills were good. Devils Tower was interesting also, just an hour off the interstate. I thought the best riding was through the Big Horn area.
The east entrance of Yellowstone is under constuction, so be wary of 30 minute waits through rough, bumpy, and muddy gravel road.
The Grand Tetons were inspiring also, take 287 going towards Duboios for a great view, and good speed.
I never seen anyone pulled over in Wyoming, or South Dakota. If you have to pick Nebraska or Kansas, go Nebraska. Fewer cops, and the speed limit is 75 verses 65 in Kansas. Beware of the wind though, I almost got blown into the median coming through Nebraska a few times.
If you need to stay overnight, stay in Powell, instead of Cody, it will be a lot cheaper
It was defintely the best ride of my life, but my butt is still sore the 14 hour day in that Corbin seat

[Rob (from Hoosierville)]

Greetings to all,

I've returned from my Western tour and I had a ball. I wanted to share some of the fantastic routes I found. This will also be cross posted to the Ride Report Forum.

The basic framework of the trip took me from Elkhart, IN to Denver, CO to the Black Hills and back to Elkhart. The highlights and lowlights follow:

I-80 from Elkhart to I-76 at the Nebraska/Colorado Line - Boring, Hot, and brutal crosswinds in Nebraska. I had to call it a day after 850 miles.

I-76 through Northeastern Colorado to Denver - Nice road and pleasant scenery. Very few signs of civilization. I rode it in the early AM and had the road to myself.

Deer Creek Canyon & Turkey Creek Canyon West of Littleton, CO - Wow! Very pretty and you'll use most of the sidewalls on your tires. A good ride when you've got an hour to kill.

Route 85 from Cheyenne, WY to Torrington, WY - Smooth two lane road you'll have to yourself. The biggest scenery you can imagine with lots of hills, sweepers, and wide open ranch land. I did 77 miles and the speedo wasn't under 80 the whole time. The scope of the view is so huge at 100 MPH you feel like you're barely moving.

Black Hills Area, SD - Pick a road, they're all good. Spearfish Canyon and the roads surrounding Lead, Deadwood, and Sturgis will not disappoint. Tip - Go some week other than rally week. I was there the week before and it was still pretty crowded with bikes but hotel rooms were available and affordable.

Badlands, SD - Another WOW! Take 44 East out of Rapid City for a 75 mile high speed run to the Badlands. Go first thing in the morning when it's cool. The Badlands loop road from the South Side of the park to Wall, SD is a real jaw dropper. Make sure your face shield is really clean so you don't miss anything.

Route 14 from Wall, SD to Fort Pierre, SD - More WOW!. Smooth two lane road, no traffic, great scenery.

State road 50 from East of Chamberlain SD to Yankton, SD - More nice two lane road. The scenery isn't as eye popping but is still nice.

Route 12 from South of Yankton, SD to near Sioux City, IA - They call this the Nebraska Byway. 60 miles of sweepers, hills and valleys. The view is fantastic. Smooth two lane road with no traffic to speak of. Take it slow or fast, either way is a bunch of fun.

I-80 from Council Bluffs, IA to Elkhart - The freeway sucks! I had intended to take Route 44 and other two lanes that run North of the freeway but I ran out of time. Maybe next trip.