Itinerary

Day 1: Cody to Cooke City on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway

No van shuttle to start this tour! We are on our bikes right from our meeting hotel in Cody, Wyoming. Today we ride the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway from Cody to Cooke City, Montana. Get ready for 80 miles with 8300’ feet of climbing as we climb to the overlook at Dead Indian Hill. Enjoy the fabulous mountain views before descending almost a mile of vertical to our hotel for the night situated just outside Yellowstone National Park.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner, Lodging: Alpine Motel
Distance: 80 miles, elevation: +8305 ft / -5789 ft

Day 2: Cooke City to Red Lodge on the Absaroka-Beartooth Highway

Charles Kuralt called the Beartooth Scenic Byway “…the most beautiful drive in America.” Breathe deeply; our high point on this stunning ride is just shy of 11,000 feet! The Shoshone National Forest has virtually all the original animal and plant species that were there when white explorers such as John Colter and Jim Bridger first visited the region. The forest is home to grizzly and black bear, cougar, moose, tens of thousands of elk as well as the largest herd of bighorn sheep in the U.S. The streams in the forest are considered to have some of the best game species fishing opportunities in the U.S. including Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Spend tonight in Red Lodge, Montana – once a raucous 1890s coal town.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Lodging: The Pollard
Distance: 64 miles, elevation: +5331 ft / -7352 ft

Day 3: Red Lodge to Lovell

Exit the big mountains today and head back to Wyoming as we journey on toward the Bighorn Mountains to the east. Fields of corn, sugar beets and alfalfa are interspersed with tiny towns as we trace the curves of Silver Tip Creek. Our destination, Lovell, is heralded as ‘Wyoming’s Rose City.’
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Lodging: Travelodge by Wyndham Lovell
Distance: 79 miles, elevation: +2075 ft / -3794 ft

Day 4: Lovell to Sheridan via Bighorn National Forest

Point your steeds east, cowboys and cowgirls – today we cross the northern portion of Bighorn National Forest. It’s a “mountain stage” so get an early start. One hundred miles and 8000 feet of climbing lie between us and our lodging tonight in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Lodging: Best Western Sheridan Center
Distance: 106 miles, elevation: +8142 ft / – 8258 ft

Day 5: Sheridan to Gillette

Continue generally eastward through foothills today, leaving the Bighorn Mountains, as well as most signs of civilization, behind. Cycle through deserted “towns” with names that like Spotted Horse (pop. 2) and Wildcat (pop. 0). Leiter is one of the few burgeoning communities, having grown from 28 residents in 2000 to 34 in 2016. Stay tonight in Gillette, WY. Early arrivals may want to explore the Rockpile Museum in order to learn more about the history of the Powder River Basin ranches, coal mines and oil development.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Lodging: Hampton Inn, Gillette
Distance: 108 miles, elevation: +4768 ft / – 3900 ft

Day 6: Gillette to Hulett via Devils Tower

From Gillette, we head toward Hullett, Wyoming. First we cycle past Keyhole Reservoir, famous for record-sized fish and a haven for both resident and migrating birds, but the big attraction today is Devils Tower National Monument, made famous by the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Lodging: Best Western Devil’s Tower
Distance: 76 miles, elevation: +3264 ft / – 4099 ft

Day 7: Hulett to Deadwood via Spearfish Canyon

Save some energy for the afternoon today. The highlight of today’s route Hulett to Deadwood, South Dakota is through Spearfish Canyon. Thousand-foot-high limestone palisades in shades of brown, pink and gray tower over Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. Enjoy bicycling its wide shoulders and uniform 3% grade (Bicycling Magazine named Spearfish Canyon one of the top 50 scenic bike paths in the country!). Deadwood is a National Historic Landmark District, a former wild-and-wooly goldrush town that hosted the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Stay in the heart of Wild West tonight. Dinner is on your own.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Lodging: Deadwood Mt. Grand
Distance: 83 miles, elevation: +5700 ft / – 4927 ft

Day 8: Deadwood to Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park

Today’s amazing roads curve through meadows surrounded by birch, aspen and rugged granite mountains and needle-like granite formations, pine and spruce forests. Pass through picturesque Hill City, a former mining town that is the oldest in Pennington County on your way to the even-more-photogenic Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Lodging: Sylvan Lake Lodge
Distance: 54 miles, elevation: +4887 ft / – 3247 ft

Day 9: Sylvan Lake to Hot Springs via Mt Rushmore and Wind Cave NP

Pedal more of Custer State Park today on your way to Rapid City, South Dakota. Unique and scenic loop roads wind through its 71,000 acres where the prairies and ponderosa pine-studded hills host some 1,300 bison, as well as pronghorn antelope, mountain goat, deer, elk, wild turkey, and a band of friendly burros. Visit Mount Rushmore National Monument and Wind Cave National Park along the way!
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Lodging: Holiday Inn, Rapid City
Distance: 50 or 90 miles, elevation: +4346 ft / – 6709 ft or +7045 ft / – 9874 ft

Day 10: Bicycle Badlands National Park

The Badlands are a stunningly beautiful 244,000-acre preserve of mixed-grass prairie surrounding needled buttes, pinnacles and spires. Once blanketed by a warm, shallow sea, it contains one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed here; today it’s home to bison, bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferret. Bicycle through this hauntingly beautiful National Park before returning to Rapid City in the late afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Distance: 42 miles, elevation: +1707 ft / – 2010 ft

* This is a general itinerary. Tour itineraries are subject to change based on the group, available accommodations and other unforeseen circumstances such as the weather, local conditions, government intervention, that may affect the quality of the trip and/or safety of the participants. Please view this itinerary as an outline as to what to expect on this tour.

Lodging

Alpine Motel
The Pollard
Travelodge by Wyndham Lovell
Best Western Sheridan Center
Hampton Inn, Gillette
Best Western Devil’s Tower
Deadwood Mt. Grand
Sylvan Lake Lodge
Holiday Inn, Rapid City
The hotels, Inns, and B&B’s we use are always among the finest the area has to offer. We work closely with the innkeepers to make sure they understand your needs and ours, whether that is having a place to store your bike, an early morning breakfast or a convenient place to park the van, they are as committed to your vacation experience as we are.

Lodging is based upon two people to a room with a private bath. If you’re traveling solo on any of our trips, we’ll assign you a roommate of the same gender and often of the same age bracket. There is no extra charge if we can’t find you a roommate, even if you sign up the day before the trip starts. You can guarantee yourself a private room and bath if you pay the Single Room Fee.

Included:

• Lodging
• All meals, one dinner on your own.
• Road / hybrid bike, E-bike rent possible
• Hiking & Wild West History
• Luggage transfer

Not included:

• Night before and after the tour.
• Flights to and from the tour
• Gratuities guides

Pricing / Tour dates

Tour price 2024: ask for price
You can avoid a single supplement by sharing a room with another rider.
Extra option rental E-bike $200.-pp
Tour dates 2024:
Between 01 Jun – 31 Aug.
Note: Only available as a private tour with a minimum of 6 participants in one booking.
Note: We will need a minimum of 4 months advance notice to acquire the permit needed to run this tour

Conditions

Deposit 25%
The deposit payment for a tour must be paid within two weeks after the booking is confirmed.
The remaining payment is due 90 days before the start of the tour.
For tours that are booked within 90 days before the start of the tour you will pay 100% of the tour price

Information

Meals and dining:
We know how important breakfast is to make sure your day starts off right. Most breakfasts are served at the inn where we spend the night and are either a set menu or a continental breakfast buffet. But if there is a local restaurant with a reputation for a great breakfast, we can guarantee we will find it and you will be treated to a nutritious meal to start the day.
Lunch is provided at a state park or similar scenic setting midway during the day’s ride. Guests are always surprised at the variety and quality of lunches we prepare. Besides sandwich fixings and cold drinks, we offer fresh fruits and vegetables and hot lunches such as tortellini with pesto or veggie burritos. If you prefer a certain item of food or drink, just let your tour guide know and we will be sure to prepare just the right lunch to keep your energy up for the rest of the day.
During the day water, fruit juices, soft drinks, energy bars, fruit, and snacks are available from the van. A cold beer from our cooler waits at the end of the day, and you can relive the day’s highlights at our wine and cheese party before dinner.
Dinner is eaten together at the best restaurant in the area. At most restaurants, you order what you want from the menu. Except for alcohol, everything is included, even appetizers, salad, soup, and dessert. If we have to shuttle everyone a short distance to get to that special place, we do it. We like to eat well.

If you have any special dietary requests, please let us know in advance. We regularly accommodate vegetarians and other restricted diets. All of our meals are carefully selected to provide you with the unusually high nutritional and caloric needs of your body on an outdoor adventure.