Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Westward Road trip....things to see?

Cody Wy museum. Plan on a full day, at least.

Cody Wy museum. Plan on a full day, at least. Also Devils Tower, in NE Wy.

Will you be taking the "Southern Route" on the way out? How far south? Spring hits the NM/AZ area a bit earlier than further north and there are interesting things to see in either or both States before heading north.

Of course, if you plan it wrong you might have to drive through....................Texas

Of course, you will be posting updates, right?

Good travels to you.

Geno

Eaten at the Western Cafe man many times. Some sober, some not so much.

I would HIGHLY recommend the Storm Castle Cafe in Bozeman.

I travel a lot with my business. And the Storm Castle is THE BEST cafe/restaurant in this part of the world.

One of a kind places and sites.

Largest Ball of Twine in Minnesota---Darwin Minnesota
Corn Palace--Mitchell, South Dakota
Wall Drug--Wall, South Dakota (Just follow the signs)
Mount Rushmore South Dakota

PM incoming

Oh, man, you got it made. Plenty of time to see a lot of the west. Beartooth is usually open the first week of June, but reliably by the middle of the month. Spectacular by July. First week of June will see tall snowbanks Either side of the road where they plowed through to open it. By July, it’s all open and beautiful up there. Lamar Valley too, which is what you go through getting to the Beartooth from the west. Glacier Park, Going to the Sun Road is awesome too, not usually completely open until late June or July. The Big Hole Valley in SW Montana is one of my favorite places on earth. Amazing. Hyalite Reservoir and Fairy lake near Bozeman are nice too.

If Superior interests you, go further north of Missoula, run 200 up the Clark Fork river valley through Thompson Falls and Noxon. Follow it to Sandpoint, ID, then head north to Bonners Ferry and cut back across 2 through Libby to Kalispell. Beautiful country. A side trip to Yaak would be neat, too. From Kalispell, you can head south through the Swan Valley, several little lakes you can drive up to along there, Van lake is a really nice one. You can cut across through McDonald Pass to Helena, then south to Townsend, and over to Judith Gap. Might check out Lewistown, it’s a nice little town at the foot of the Big Snowies. East and a bit north of there, you will find the Peck Reservoir and the Missouri Breaks. All of it beautiful in different ways. What I laid out after Kalispell sets you up for the northern route back home, too. Cut across North Dakota to Minnesota, or cut south from the Peck Reservoir to Billings and catch 90.

Other suggestions on Wyoming are spot on. Grand Teton is a beautiful place, should try for a sunrise at the Snake River overlook there. Spectacular, but gotta be there before sunup, the colors are quick to change as the sun rises. Hope you have a good camera. Highways 14 and 16 through the Bighorns are awesome. As are museums at Cody. Saratoga in the south part of the state is neat, hot spring pool open to the public 24/7/365, good base from which to explore the Medicine Bow area. Beautiful and easy access. Going out, cut off 70 onto 40 north for Steamboat Springs, pretty drive, and it takes you west to Irish Canyon, or farther to the Flaming Gorge. Skip Salt Lake City, traffic is horrendous there, instead take 191 up to Rock Springs, then 90 west to 30 west. Take that to Montpelier, ID and catch 89 north through the Star Valley, then to Alpine, and into Jackson Hole from there.

Should be a lot of county fairs and rodeos in season while you are out there, you oughta hit a couple of those. In fact, the big rodeo at Cheyenne might fit your schedule. They call it Frontier Days, tickets sell out early. You want to sit on the J stand if you go. Aluminum bleachers cook ya on the other side if it’s sunny.

It would be well worth your time to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield SE of Billings while you are close. Take the time to read the plaques and signage about the battle. It helps paint a picture of what happened there.

The big western stuff is in Kings' Museum, walk thru the back door of the tack store, cross the alley and you're there. Across Main St from Kings' is the Mint Bar, always worth a visit.

Are you bringing a varmit gun? I found some P-dogs in 2 walk-in areas at the Acme exit between Sheridan and Ranchester

A lot of time could be well wasted in the Sheridan area

How do you think this virus will affect the trip? I read the US Forest Service closed a bunch up in Washington and Oregon. Any betting odds Montana will do the same? I’d hate to get stuck on the road traveling or locked in/out with closures. It feels like the universe is throwing curveballs my way...

I had a spring fishing trip to Az. planned and I cancelled. No way I would go, too many places closed. I am in NW Montana and they pretty much have things shut down.
If you do get sick you will be quarantined where you are at. Stay home

That’s kinda what I was thinking.....It’s hard to be heartbroken about cancelling the trip when people are dying. I’ve been planning and prepping for this for awhile.

Stop by Douglas, Wyoming.......take a GPS.

Go south of Douglas....zone 7 elk.....and do some elk shed hunting.

They are dropping right now.

Think Wagonhound......hunt the public land bordering those properties.

You may see me out there. It’s getting boring around these parts.

No virus in the truck or Casita.

Fishing at LaBonte Canyon too....as well as Toltec Reservoir. Cutt-bows.

Not sure about closures, but I suggest you see the following in California:

Yosemite National Park

If you can park at Yosemite creek campground and hike the 5 miles to the rim of the canyon. You will see square miles of glacier carved granite.

Hearst Castle

Unlimited money built something amazing.

Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Good, clear weather. Your 300 feet above the water and the bay would be full of sailboats. Beautiful and lots of fresh air. Don’t wear shorts or short sleeves.

I'm afraid your fun trip is going to be severely compromised. I hope rescheduling is an option for the vacation.
It will be a lot more satisfying when this blows over.

I heard there is this virus thing going on somewhere. Most of the places that have been mentioned are CLOSED. Yellowstone is slated to open the west side road from Mammoth to Old Faithful on 4/17. Ain't gonna happen. As of right now Yellowstone is closed until further notice. It will be lucky to be open by Memorial Day. The eaterys mentioned are CLOSED. You're gonna have a tough time finding anything on the above lists open.

Stay home, be safe', don't endanger others.

WORD!

This would be a great time for a road trip if all you wanted to do was get gasoline and be alone. But then you might get caught out in some state that decides to force quarantines on travelers because there's no generally-available tests. Or someone sneezes on you.

Great suggestions all, but the best suggestion is to just stay around home at least until there's testing.

My job involves a lot of travel around Montana. Things are shutdown everywhere. Finding something to eat is a pain. I’ve pushed back all of the work I can, for stuff that can’t wait I’ve been dragging my camper instead of staying in hotels and eating out. I’d put your trip off if at all possible.