On a road trip (Billings, Missoula: home, neighborhood, earthquake)

[insaneman_12]

In a couple of weeks I am going to be riding through Montana and was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me a few good towns to stop at. I'm trying to stick with the mountains because I will be on my motorcycle and I love to lean. LOL. I want to move out of California and the purpose of this trip is to look at things with my own eyes. You can only learn so much from the net. I don't know if I will move to Montana, but I have never been there. I am hitting 4 other states along the way. All I am looking for is a small town where I can go to work, go home and be able to pay the bills with out living paycheck to paycheck. Plus I NEED places to ride my motorcycles dirt and street. Living in the mountains would be a dream for me. Any information would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time.

[georgiainwyo]

You definitely have to check out Red Lodge and Beartooth Pass that leads from there to Yellowstone. The drive is spectacular so I'm sure would be amazing on a motorcycle. Further north in Glacier Natl. Park is Going to the Sun Road, another splendid drive. Look up those places on the net!

[jimj]

It'd be helpful to know where you want to enter the state and where you want to end up. Coming from Norcal there's 3 ways to get to Glacier Park area and having driven all 3 there's only one I'd want to do on a bike as the other two have long stretches of boring freeway.

[insaneman_12]

Well I really appericate the info and I will be entering from the tip of Idaho and going down through to Wyoming. Im starting from Cali then Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada then back to hell. LOL. Just one big and hopefully a fun loop.

[Montana Baby]

Originally Posted by jimj

It'd be helpful to know where you want to enter the state and where you want to end up. Coming from Norcal there's 3 ways to get to Glacier Park area and having driven all 3 there's only one I'd want to do on a bike as the other two have long stretches of boring freeway.

Highway 93??

[Montana Baby]

Originally Posted by insaneman_12

In a couple of weeks I am going to be riding through Montana and was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me a few good towns to stop at. I'm trying to stick with the mountains because I will be on my motorcycle and I love to lean. LOL. I want to move out of California and the purpose of this trip is to look at things with my own eyes. You can only learn so much from the net. I don't know if I will move to Montana, but I have never been there. I am hitting 4 other states along the way. All I am looking for is a small town where I can go to work, go home and be able to pay the bills with out living paycheck to paycheck. Plus I NEED places to ride my motorcycles dirt and street. Living in the mountains would be a dream for me. Any information would be greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time.

Amazed at how many motorcycles in MT - big Harley dealership in Missoula. And of course Paul Teutel Jr 's (of American Chopper fame) ex girlfriend grew up north of Missoula. Teutels showed up in Missoula and I guess there was quite a crowd at the mall.

[jimj]

My favorite route is from I-5 up about Weed, cut off on 97 to Bend, then to 84 to Pendleton and The Dalles, thorugh Pasco up to Spokane.
From Bend:
Start out going SOUTHWEST on NW WALL ST toward NW FRANKLIN AVE. 0.1 miMap
2: Turn LEFT onto NW FRANKLIN AVE. 0.1 miMap Avoid
3: Turn LEFT onto NW BOND ST. 0.2 miMap Avoid
4: Turn RIGHT onto NW GREENWOOD AVE. 0.4 miMap Avoid
5: Turn LEFT onto NE 3RD ST/ US-97 BR/ US-20. Continue to follow US-97 BR/ US-20. 1.1 miMap Avoid
6: Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto ramp. 0.4 miMap Avoid
7: Merge onto US-97 N. 41.3 miMap Avoid
8: Turn RIGHT onto US-97/ NE 5TH ST. Continue to follow US-97. 93.0 miMap Avoid
9: Merge onto I-84 E/ US-30 E toward RUFUS/ PENDLETON. 74.3 miMap Avoid
10: Merge onto I-82 W via EXIT 179 toward HERMISTON/ UMATILLA (Crossing into WASHINGTON). 30.8 miMap Avoid
11: Merge onto US-395 N via EXIT 113 toward I-182/ KENNEWICK/ PASCO. 5.4 miMap Avoid
12: Merge onto US-395 N via the exit on the LEFT toward SPOKANE. 2.0 miMap Avoid
13: Merge onto I-182 E/ US-12 E/ US-395 N toward SPOKANE/ WALLA WALLA. 1.8 miMap Avoid
14: Take the US-395 N/ WA-397 S exit, EXIT 14, toward SPOKANE/ FINLEY. 0.2 miMap Avoid
15: Merge onto US-395 N via EXIT 14B on the LEFT toward SPOKANE. 133.9 miMap Avoid
16: US-395 N becomes I-90 E (Passing through IDAHO, then crossing into MONTANA). 195.9 miMap Avoid

[rangerider]

If you come down through Helena country instead of Missoula, take I-15 for a short distance down to the Boulder cutoff. It runs down to I-90, then jog a short distance and take the little hiway 2 cutoff down the Jefferson River canyon by Lewis and Clark Caverns. That is a great bike ride, we do it a lot. Then you can either go on east or cut down 287 south to the park. If you're in that neighborhood, it's worth it to keep heading south of Ennis on 287 and see the earthquake area. Gallatin Canyon is a great drive, too, but full of tourist traffic that isn't paying attention - not the best place on a bike unless you hit it early morning.

Pretty hard to miss on any route you're coming through, but the two lanes will afford better scenery and riding. When you hit Montana, check out the state brochures found in truck stops and chamber of commerce racks. Most will have the scenic drives included, and depending on your type of bike, you can range from strictly highway to pretty off-road.

As far as towns, you can take your pick depending on interests. We have a ton of relatively recent history here, and if you do a little reading about our state history on-line you'll probably come up with a good route that takes in what you like to see. If I had to pick one spot to stop and spend some time looking, it's probably be Virginia City. IMHO, a good share of what happened in our state is embodied there, and despite being pretty touristy part of the year, it's worth seeing just because a fair share of it has been preserved at least semi-intact. Also, the ride dropping into the Madison valley is a good drop full of curves and you can head south from Ennis like I mentioned above.

Just for reference, if you go east and over the Beartooth Pass to access the park and points south, have an alternate route in mind. I have been snowed in on a motorcycle up on that pass. In August. Had to get trailered out - 10" and it wasn't melting off. Was 80 degrees when I left Billings.