Comments on National Parks

. . Let me comment about National Parks.

. . I have been to most of American’s major National parks and one thing they all have in common is – narrow roads often winding and no shoulders.  What makes matters worse is motorists are almost always distracted trying not to miss that next great view of scenery or some animal.  Active.com rates “the road going to the sun” in Glacier National Park as one of the top ten bike rides in the world.  I was just in that park in the last month and I found the road to be narrow, winding, and with no shoulder.  Without a doubt motorists would have their attention elsewhere.  Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons have no alternative routes through the park. 

. . Yellowstone and Tetons are best visited in September, after the tourist4 season and before the first snowfall.  I would recommend strongly against any other time.

. . Actually the preferred vehicle to ban in the National Park is the car.  They are already banned in the Grand Canyon National Park and there is a movement to ban them in other popular venues.  The issue is the pollution and traffic.  Bikes are not liked only because they can increase traffic jams and can be a safety issue.  Commercial bike tours are banned from entering Yellowstone.

. . However, if any of these parks are our targets we may want to include camping.  Services and motels are sparse and expensive.   

. . My concern is not where to bicycle when we get there.  These are very big parks that we will want to enjoy of many days, not just on a bike but also on foot.  We will find ourselves doing more touring than biking. There is just too much to see and enjoy.  The Yellowstone bike ride that Gary found is a 7-day event and they can’t even enter the park.  As I mentioned earlier, there is no place on this planet that matches Yellowstone.

. . Lastly, if camping, we should not underestimate the bear problem. 

Tom