Anyone ever ride up to Calgary? or Banff NP? Heading up there on the GS and wondering what roads to take.
Anyone ever ride up to Calgary? or Banff NP? Heading up there on the GS and wondering what roads to take.
To those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins,... ..we show them that the human spirit is still alive
Hyper 1100
KTM 450 XCW
Yes to both, Calgary and Banff, but I can't recall the route numbers, offhand.
Still, it's definitely worth doing, just some starkly beautiful country up there, really stunning at times, and some good twisties to boot.
Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.
~Hunter S. Thompson
Come on man, you gots to remember! I've been playing around with google maps but I have no idea which roads will be good. Got 10 days so the idea is to bomb up to Calgary, spend a day there (actually in Banff) then head back down the Continental Divide trail through Colorado then back home. Won't be on sport bikes but the GS still likes twisties
To those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins,... ..we show them that the human spirit is still alive
Hyper 1100
KTM 450 XCW
Lol, sorry dude, that was like...ages ago...Originally Posted by bodhizafa
Come on man, you gots to remember! I've been playing around with google maps but I have no idea which roads will be good. Got 10 days so the idea is to bomb up to Calgary, spend a day there (actually in Banff) then head back down the Continental Divide trail through Colorado then back home. Won't be on sport bikes but the GS still likes twisties
I do remember a road that runs parallel to their Highway 1, but north of it, and we took that instead of 1 since it was smaller and twistier, and went by a bunch of lakes and was near a river the whole time.
We were hitting the national parks, so we hit Yellowstone, through Missoula and Glacier National Park, and went up to Banff first then over to Calgary and back down...
There's a road NE of Yellowstone on the WY/MT border, Bearpaw or Beartooth or Bearshit Hwy (bear something, I can't remember wtf it was), south of Redlodge (where we stayed, had a great $40 bison steak, worth every penny), it was *incredible*...found it completely by accident (got semi-lost) but sections of it made the whole thing worth it.
...none of this is probably helping...sorry man...Good Luck Have Fun!?
Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.
~Hunter S. Thompson
Here, found it, it's "Beartooth Highway" (WY/MT border) this might not be on your flight route, but check it out for next time if you can't make it this time:
http://g.co/maps/kdys
http://www.beartoothhighway.com/roadMaps/index.html
Last edited by Ghost; Wed Aug 31st, 2011 at 12:05 AM.
Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.
~Hunter S. Thompson
Here's just a quick route I threw together for you guys. Link
I lived in Calgary from Sep. '94 to Aug '95 but I didn't get to do much riding while there. But there is some spectacular stuff to see in that area. Banff is nice but lots of tourists this time of year. Lake Louise is worth seeing with its milky blue glacier runoff. If you can get over to Yoho National Park, it is well worth it. It has spectacular scenery and it is home to an amazing collection of soft body fossils (which are extremely rare) laid down not long after the Cambrian explosion. The fossil field is known as the Burgess Shale and is the subject of Stephen J. Gould's book "Wonderful Life", a great read.
Formerly MRA #211 - High Precision Racing
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self- preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."
--Thomas Jefferson
Banff and Glacier NP both looked great as we cut through on the way back from AK this summer. Did not have time to divert but there were a ton of roads that went off the main route that looked awesome to explore. It is on the "go back and play" list for sure.
Other than that, I am of no help!
John
Jay, I have a AAA book of all the scenic highways and byways. I'll give it to you when I see you this week. I quickly paged through it and I'm sure it can help you pick some awesome roads.
+1 on adding Beartooth Highway to your route. Did this last Saturday AM, leaving Red Lodge at 7AM. Weather was perfect (60s down below, probably high 40s at top), maybe a half-dozen cars on the pass in total. Gorgeous. Felt like I was stopping every 1000 feet for another photo.
Chief Joseph Scenic Highway on the way up is also worth it as a way of getting to the pass. ~17 miles north on Hwy 120 out of Cody, then turn onto 296.
Beartooth will be going into the GPS! Sean ..... I have a feeling we are going to be missing your routing skills
The ride is mainly about the Conti Divide trail, so we only have 1 day in Banff. A Steven Jay Gould reference has my attention though ..... soft fossils?
To those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins,... ..we show them that the human spirit is still alive
Hyper 1100
KTM 450 XCW
Yeah, the Burgess shale is one of the few places where soft body parts have been preserved in the fossils. You couldn't make up creatures that look more alien than some of the species in that formation:
Formerly MRA #211 - High Precision Racing
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self- preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property, and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."
--Thomas Jefferson
WTF! I don't have the HP to do that in 2 days! It would be nice to see Tennessee I guess ...
To those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins,... ..we show them that the human spirit is still alive
Hyper 1100
KTM 450 XCW
I was like 9 years old when I was in that part of the world, but still remember the beauty of it all (38 years later). Enjoy and soak it all in. It's one of my dream trips and hope to get up there again before I can't walk anymore.
Check out my WordPress blog -- Exploring Colorado’s 25 Scenic and Historic Byways: A two-year tour by sport bike, auto and 4×4 @ mtnairloversview
Like my Facebook page @ Colorado Scenic Byways Tours to learn more about the byways
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