Cowboy Posted March 9, 2016 Share #1 Posted March 9, 2016 Alberta's Icefields Parkway / Rider Magazine / Questions 1. Who has ridden this area? 2. What time of year is the earliest you would try and ride? 3. What type of camp grounds could we expect to find? a. Electric needed! b. Hot Showers needed! 4. What is the dollar exchange rate lately? 5. Thinking of leaving the Ellijay, Georgia on May 24th a. Ellijay to Troy, MI b. Troy, Mi to Thunder Bay, ON c. Thunder Bay, ON to Winnipeg, Manitoba d. Winnipeg, Manitoba to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan e. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta f. Edmonton, Alberta to Jasper, Alberta g. Jasper, Alberta to Glacier National Park, Montana f. Glacier National Park, Montana to Red Lodge, Montana g. Red Lodge, Montana to Fort Collins, Colorado h. Fort Collins, Colorado to Ellijay, Georgia Thanks for any insight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted March 9, 2016 Share #2 Posted March 9, 2016 Never did ride it but gotta say - GOOOOO COWBOY GOOOO - BROTHER!!!:dancefool::dancefool::clap2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest divey Posted March 9, 2016 Share #3 Posted March 9, 2016 Alberta's Icefields Parkway / Rider Magazine / Questions 1. Who has ridden this area? 2. What time of year is the earliest you would try and ride? 3. What type of camp grounds could we expect to find? a. Electric needed! b. Hot Showers needed! 4. What is the dollar exchange rate lately? 5. Thinking of leaving the Ellijay, Georgia on May 24th a. Ellijay to Troy, MI b. Troy, Mi to Thunder Bay, ON c. Thunder Bay, ON to Winnipeg, Manitoba d. Winnipeg, Manitoba to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan e. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta f. Edmonton, Alberta to Jasper, Alberta g. Jasper, Alberta to Glacier National Park, Montana f. Glacier National Park, Montana to Red Lodge, Montana g. Red Lodge, Montana to Fort Collins, Colorado h. Fort Collins, Colorado to Ellijay, Georgia Thanks for any insight!! Brian I started a reply to this and after 5 minutes of typing I lost my message so hopefully this doesn't come up twice. Nice trip you have planned. You should hit Western Canada around the end of May, first part of June so shouldn't run into too many weather issues that time of year. June is a good time to ride here before the tourists hit the roads with the kids out of school. The Parkway from Jasper south to Lake Louise and Banff is a spectacular ride. It's high in the mountains so there is a chance in early June you could hit some weather but the reality is, it's been known to snow there through July and August as well. Pretty sure there'll still be snow in the ditches though. Watch for wild animals and pretend RV'ers who only last night had a vision that they should rent an RV and drive the Parkway. It's pretty much all National Park so you would be wise to go on the website for Canada's National Parks (http://www.pc.gc.ca) and check out the availability and services provided. You will have to pay to ride the Parkway. Not sure if you're pulling a tent trailer or what your plans are for staying along the way. If you're going south from Banff/Calgary area to Glacier, you might want to consider going to Waterton National Park and then take the pass over the top to Chief Mountain and into Montana. Spectacular scenery all the way. Puc @cowpuc will try and warn you about bugs in southern Alberta but don't listen to him!! It very likely will be windy though as you get south of Calgary and through to the US border. Dale @Dale124 and I rode through Red Lodge last summer and rode the Beartooth Pass coming up from Yellowstone. Don't miss it if you haven't been on it before. I'm sure other's will chime in here to provide advice and feel free to send me a PM anytime if you have questions, especially about Alberta and British Columbia. It's likely you'll ride about a quarter mile from where I'll be just outside of Edmonton when you pass through and would be more than happy to provide you whatever help or guidance you need along the way through here. Good luck with your plans. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowpuc Posted March 9, 2016 Share #4 Posted March 9, 2016 Brian I started a reply to this and after 5 minutes of typing I lost my message so hopefully this doesn't come up twice. Nice trip you have planned. You should hit Western Canada around the end of May, first part of June so shouldn't run into too many weather issues that time of year. June is a good time to ride here before the tourists hit the roads with the kids out of school. The Parkway from Jasper south to Lake Louise and Banff is a spectacular ride. It's high in the mountains so there is a chance in early June you could hit some weather but the reality is, it's been known to snow there through July and August as well. Pretty sure there'll still be snow in the ditches though. Watch for wild animals and pretend RV'ers who only last night had a vision that they should rent an RV and drive the Parkway. It's pretty much all National Park so you would be wise to go on the website for Canada's National Parks (www.pc.gc.ca) and check out the availability and services provided. You will have to pay to ride the Parkway. Not sure if you're pulling a tent trailer or what your plans are for staying along the way. If you're going south from Banff/Calgary area to Glacier, you might want to consider going to Waterton National Park and then take the pass over the top to Chief Mountain and into Montana. Spectacular scenery all the way. Puc @cowpuc will try and warn you about bugs in southern Alberta but don't listen to him!! It very likely will be windy though as you get south of Calgary and through to the US border. Dale @Dale124 and I rode through Red Lodge last summer and rode the Beartooth Pass coming up from Yellowstone. Don't miss it if you haven't been on it before. I'm sure other's will chime in here to provide advice and feel free to send me a PM anytime if you have questions, especially about Alberta and British Columbia. It's likely you'll ride about a quarter mile from where I'll be just outside of Edmonton when you pass through and would be more than happy to provide you whatever help or guidance you need along the way through here. Good luck with your plans. Doug Yea BUT,, ol DaddyO' Pucster has 's of those bugs of which he has spoken so now we KNOW who speaketh the truth between father and son here (C 's below).. Now,, the previous is in NO WAY meant to be a discredit toward those Champion Canuck riders - Divey and his side kick "7" (Dale1+2+4) - whom I am sure know wayyyy more than I ever will about the "Icefield Parkway" of which I have never ridden BUT - when it comes the Alberta bugs - I know my stuff:rasberry: Cowboy,, again - have NO idea on the Parkway (would LOVE to ride it sometime and go up and BUG those two lop eared Canuck varmints) but do know that the last time we did Glacier NP it was the 1st week of July and they had JUST opened up the "Going To The Sun" road the day before we got there.. If you are thinking of riding that road thru the park (it is GORGEOUS) I wouldnt plan on doing it to much earlier in the season - foot hills and high plains were good riding temps though.. Same goes with the Yellowstone area - its a toss up on the weather when it comes to those mountains - July/August are my suggestions if your gonna be doing those area's.. By the way Cowboy, take a map and look at Red Lodge - look south and find Cody - find "14A" going from Cody to Ranchester - if at all possible you will want to ride this amazing roadway, that roadway (once again - "14A") going up into the Big Horn Mountains took over 30 years to accomplish and it is spectacular. Custers Last Stand NP is real close to the end of that route - wayyy cool too for a Cowboy!! Another often missed ride is to a place called "Jordan Montana". If possible, find your way to Jordan Montana, very very small western cow town,, when you get to Jordan stop and ask where the "Senior Center" is. At the Senior Center they have the COOLEST Museum you have EVER seen!! I wont spoil it for you but you will see AWESOME real deal Cowboy stuff and get to play with ACTUAL Dinosaur bones - PLACE IS UNREAL!! Gonna pick up Devils Tower/The Black Hills of South Dakota on the way to Fort Collins? Dont forget that the Sturgis Rally is the 2nd full week of August each year.. The week before that has also become VERY busy with bikes - almost a Rally in itself.. Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Rapid City, Custer, The Black Hills, Devils Tower and all that region can get overrun with motorcycles during those dates. Its fun but can be trying if your trying to tour and like the quiet.. I have places that I have camped for years in the Black Hills area and would be glad to share them with you. The Dakota's, most of Wyoming, Montana, Utah, parts of Colorado are "open camp" like Michigan is. State/Federal Lands are always open. Same as most BLM lands. Stop, pop a tent, sleep and get up and start over.. Now,, about those Alberta bugs......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfman Posted March 9, 2016 Share #5 Posted March 9, 2016 I rode it in 2014 (albeit quickly) Photos from that day: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/alaska-2014-hotel-budget-zero.995038/#post-24698029 For WY/MT I really like Beartooth Pass 212 and I hear "Going to the Sun Road" in GNP is very nice but it opens late every summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share #6 Posted March 10, 2016 Looks like I will be pulling the my Bushtec Trailer so we will have a tent, air mattress, cooking stove, coffee pot, & cooler for food & our cold weather gear. The wife and I travel with all the comforts of home. I guess some would say we travel with to much but as long as we are comfortable it does not matter otherwise. As for the roads mentioned in the lower 48 I would have to say great roads mentioned and have ridden all and will hit a few as we travel home. Last June we made a great tour of some great national parks. Trip started in Tao, NM. to Pagosa Springs, CO. to Durango, CO.to Ouray, Co. to Monument Valley, AZ to Natural Bridges National Monument, UT Capitol Reef National Park, to Bryce National Park, to Cedars National Park, to North Rim of Grand Canyon, to Zion National Park, Then North to Grand Teton National Park, To Glacier National Park the road to the sun, over to Many Glaciers, back over the road to the sun, South back down to Yellowstone National Park down to south entrance and then out the North East Entrance to ride 14A over to Sheridian, WY to Estes National Park and Home. This year we really wanted to just concentrate on the riding area around the Alberta's Icefields Parkway and Lake Louise and Baniff and back down to Waterton National Park back over the road to the sun and head to Fort Collins to see friends and home. Sounds like I might need to get some bear proof containers and bear spray since I cannot carry over the boarder! Sounds like I might need to have an extra coat or two of wax for all the bugs!! Bug Repellent Thanks All Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted March 10, 2016 Share #7 Posted March 10, 2016 heres is a vid of the icefields parkway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friesman Posted March 10, 2016 Share #8 Posted March 10, 2016 some good info about biking in the area with Ride Stop n Go http://www.ridestopngo.com/canada/ http://www.ridestopngo.com/10-great-rides-10-great-burgers-alberta/lake-louise-jasper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest divey Posted March 10, 2016 Share #9 Posted March 10, 2016 heres is a vid of the icefields parkway Great vid Brian.....Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leftcoaster Posted March 10, 2016 Share #10 Posted March 10, 2016 Ice field Parkway Rode it south to north two years ago after leaving 'Road to the Sun' Highly recommend it! I believe the powers that be just completed a glass walkway viewing site somewhere along it. Similar to the Grand Canyon site. Beautiful trip and I hope you have the best of weather. Good luck and safe travels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now