By Motorcycle: Seattle to Sturgis SD to South Florida!

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Hey Road Trip USA --

I will be traveling from Seattle to South Florida by motorcycle this summer.  Aside from a few days in Sturgis for the bike rally I have a wide open agenda.  I would like to avoid freeway riding as much as possible and stick to secondary roads.  I have about 20 days to do this.  Any suggestions on things to see and a possible route would be greatly appreciated...
 
Big

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Dear Big -- 

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA -- hope I can help find you a good route down to Florida.  Seattle to Sturgis is pretty straightforward -- I'd recommend following old US-2 east over the Cascades as far as Glacier National Park, where you can ride my favorite road in the world, the Going-to-the-Sun Highway.  

I cover this whole route in my US-2 "Great Northern" road trip, in the book and online:  

From Glacier  I think I'd circle back down to Missoula and US-93, which follows a lovely route (with many appealing detours along the way.) Next stop: Yellowstone National Park, and the winding ride over Beartooth Pass (US-212, up to Billings MT).  Maybe run south to the Grand Tetons from Yellowstone, if the weather is cooperating. 

Then you can pay your respects to Gen'l Custer & Co. at Little Big Horn, and / or look for "Close Encounters" at Devils Tower, in Wyoming.  Then make your way to Mt Rushmore and Sturgis.  I'd give myself  5 days for the 1300-mile ride -- allowing some time to see the sights of Yellowstone and Glacier.

From Sturgis to South Florida, you have endless possibilities.  Tell me a little more about what you like to see and do -- history?  nature? BBQ?  music?  and I'll try to come up with some good roads for you to ride. I know many bikers love the region around the Great Smokies National Park -- there are some roads around there that go miles and miles without a straightaway to interrupt the mountain twisties...

:-)

Hope this helps get you started.  Happy Trails, 


Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA

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Hey Road Trip --

Thanks for the tips -- I've ordered your book, and am looking forward to the trip.

In the South I'm looking to do some of the Great River Road (for BBQ ribs!), then will make my way across Tennessee to some of those great rides in the Smokies. Tail of the Dragon, here I come...)

Wisconsin to Wyoming, then Pennsylvania

Hey Road Tripper ! --


My best friend and I are taking a road trip this summer starting in Wisconsin and ending in eastern Pennsylvania. We are leaving from Madison WI, going to a friends in Wausau, WI, then Minnesota.

After this we would like to go through North Dakota and Montana. I was going to take your US-2 drive, or should we take route 94? I would like to go to the Glaciers National Park in Montana, then I would like to take the scenic drive for June which you have on your website as being in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. I want to take that to Yellowstone, then South Dakota to Mount Rushmore.

We'll come home via Iowa, then Chicago, and a I-80 straight shot to PA from Chicago.

My questions:

Heading west, should we take route 2 or 94?

What is there to stop off and see in North Dakota and Montana?

Should I add on another stop somewhere?


Nikole

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Hi Nikole --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA. I hope I can help you & your friend have a great trip this summer.

Since you have so many wonderful destinations ahead of you, I think maybe it would be good to get yourself "out west" as quickly as possible, so I-94 seems like a good bet. It's a pretty enough drive, and I might suggest you look into lodgings at Yellowstone on your way west (since you are there before most schools get out, you might miss the summer vacation rush).

North Dakota has a couple of good stops -- Bismarck (the state capital) and Medora (near Teddy Roosevelt National Park). But parts of the northern Great Plains, particularly the very nice city of Minot North Dakota, at the junction of US-2 and my US-83 "Road to Nowhere" road trip, has suffered from terrible flooding -- the whole downtown is under water as I write, so maybe this year I-94 will be a better choice.

As far as scenery goes, things definitely get nicer as you approach the Rocky Mountains, in western Montana.

If you veer south onto I-90, via Billings, the Beartooth Highway (US-212) via Red Lodge is a great drive, and further west Missoula makes a nice break (it's a great college town, if you like that sort of thing).

Glacier National Park, along US-2 on the crest of the Rocky Mountains, is also well worth some time -- it's best seen from the Going to the Sun Road, which runs right across the park. Be sure to get out of the car and hike, so you can stretch your legs and see some of the abundant wildlife.

My "Drive of the Month" scenic route you mention, from Yellowstone to Glacier via the Grand Tetons, follows US-20 and US-93 (and a few other roads), and it is a gorgeous drive. Lots of wide open spaces, and some nice towns, too.

(I like Whitefish MT, and Stanley and Boise in Idaho are also very nice places to visit.)

From Glacier National Park and wherever else you go in Idaho, you can circle back via Yellowstone (and Grand Tetons and the town of Jackson -- both of which are well worth adding to your plans. And if you like Wild West history, be sure to stop in the town of Cody Wyoming for the Buffalo Bill Museum, perhaps the best in the world.

Then on your way back east, I-90 will carry you past Mount Rushmore, on to Chicago, then your race home to Pennsylvania. Sounds fun -- hope it works out for you.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA

Great Northern from Down Under

Hi Jamie,

Planning to do the U2 starting in New York as far as Kalispell then taking highway 93 with a plan of ending up in LA.

We would be hiring an RV and think we will allow 4 -5 weeks to complete the trip. We are used to outback travel in Australia.

My question - Is 4 - 5 weeks long enough??

Peter from Down Under

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Hi Peter --

Thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA -- I'm glad to hear you are going to join the flood of Aussies coming over to the US to take advantage of favorable exchange rates. Our tourism businesses could use your money!

Joking aside, to answer your question: Yes, 4 weeks is plenty of time to have a great trip, from NY to Montana to LA, without being in any kind of rush.

I'd suggest that you add in the Canadian Rockies, too, while you're "in the neighborhood." And if you can swing 5 weeks, that would be even better, since there is so much to see and do along the way.

Let me know how your plans shape up, and I'll try to give you some more detailed tips, closer to your trip.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA