Unique Cycling Experience in Yellowstone National Park

Each spring, Yellowstone National Park opens the roughly 50-mile to cyclists & hikers for a unique experience. Read more...

Do you have an unique or seasonal cycling rides in your area? For example in Ottawa on Sundays during the warmer months some of the main streets are for bicycle only for part of the day.

However the trip listed below is truly amazing.

For a short time in the spring, Yellowstone National Park opens the roughly 50-mile section of road between park headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyo., and West Yellowstone only to bicyclists, walkers or rollerbladers. Given the variety of wildlife, the scarcity of vehicles and the sweeping vistas of snowy mountains, waterfalls and boiling thermal features, it has to be one of the most incredible and unusual bicycle rides in the United States, if not the world.

“When the weather is nice, it’s like the coolest thing ever,” says Kelli Sanders of Freeheel and Wheel bicycle shop in West Yellowstone. “I usually go in every chance I can.”

How should I pack? The thought of riding almost 50 miles in a drizzling rain or sleet sounds cold and uncomfortable. So I overpack, selecting gear more suited to snowmobiling — mittens, two pairs of fleece underwear, a ski helmet — than bicycling. I even consider bringing my winter boots. Sanders, of the bike shop in West, advises riders to protect the extremities: toes, hands and ears.

Yellowstone officials warn on their website that the route is “not for the faint of heart” and that riders should travel “self-contained.” I initially pack a sleeping bag and tent in case I bonk. I see myself camped on the asphalt ribbon of road between plowed piles of snow deep in the park’s interior, wolves howling in the distance….More at Bicycle-only season in Yellowstone National Park offers unique ride – Billings Gazette

What makes the Yellowstone experience so unique is that it is almost like cycling along a 50 mile paved bike path that is not a rail trail yet is out in the country. As the Yellowstone officials state this a a challenging route. Of course you will require a set of rear bicycle panniers for your bike tools, snacks and they also recommend a tent along with bear spray.