Doing the Highway to the Sun ( late July)

[venture1]

Any comments from anyone whgo has made this trip. We are planning this trip from Manitoba to Waterton National Park and the North through B.C.

[Tom]

Take A very good Camera!..Have fun,it is beautiful. Tom

[BJB]

It used to cost a few dollars...don't know if this was a highway fee or park fee. If you are planning to do it and return to Canada right away then get some US funds ahead of time. Its a great ride.

[venture1]

There are 3 couples going on this trip , planning about 4000 Km. We are really looking forward to it . I,m not much of a camera guy but I think we will have to take a good one along.

[k7mdl]

In BC along Hwy 1 and 3, some of the scenic overlooks are gravel roads that take you to several thousand feet. Some are in nice shape, but conditions change year to year. I do not consider any generation of Venture a great gravel road bike, but if you are solo, it might be worth a try. They can turn muddy on occasion. The west side is rather rainy unitl late July/August. Mt. Kobau on the east side of the Cascades is one of those gravel roads, used annually for Star parties (as in the astronomical type) it is an easy drive up with wide flat reasonably maintained gravel road, go slow and you can easily avoid most potholes and cows. Not sure I woudl try it two-up though.

 

On my web site ( http://mysite.verizon.net/michael_d_lewis/Contest_Archive/2006_June_VHF_Contest.htm )I have some pictures of some of the stops I made in southern BC. I was in a VHF ham radio contest in 2006 traveling to all the good high spots along the way and was in my truck. There are a few pictures from E.C. Manning Provincial Park Scenic Lookout. That is at 5500ft and is paved up to the parking lot. It was quite cloudy and rainy that day in the pictures. On the main roads bears are often seen grazing along side the roads, and crossing the roads. Watch out for deer i the morning and evening especially. They like to graze on the grass in the road ditches and jump out at times when startled.

 

- Mike

[derwood]

Logan pass is overrated, it costs 10 bucks a head to go over it and it is usually quite busy and slow. On weekends expect to have to circle the parking lot at the top to park , sometimes as long as 20 minutes, there will be a sign at the top telling you how long the wait to park is. Not suggesting you don't go over it, just a heads up. Heading south at st mary through east glacier is a reasonably brisk winding ride, watch for free range cattle. You can do a loop around through west glacier and back to waterton via chief mountain.

If you get up to BC don't miss highway 6 from Vernon to Kaslo and down to Nelson. the ferry rides are free.

Oh yea, the wooden bridge decks can be quite slippery!

[Midrsv]

I rode across the Going-to-the-Sun Highway last July with 6 other bikes. It was a great ride. There was quite a bit of traffic on the road but it didin't hinder our progress because we were going slow anyway to take in all of the scenery. While the Glacier area was beautiful, I liked riding Beartooth Pass even more. Attached are a few photos from our trip.

 

DT

[venture1]

Thanks for the info , I enjoyed your photos and it is interesting to here

 

about other peoples experiences. We are planning to do the ferry ride up North ,

 

should be a very interesting trip. By the looks of some of those pictures, I think I"ll

 

put on a new set of tires before I leave. I just hope the 2 nomads that we are traveling

 

with can keep up .:rotf:

[Freebird]

My wife and I along with Bob and Becky Dakin did it a few years ago. Fantastic riding in that area. I can't remember when we were there...it was in June I think and they just opened it up the week before we got there. Here is a picture of Eileen and I at the top.

[PrairieStar]

Made the trip through Logan's Pass 2 years ago......Beautiful. In my opinion, the best is when traveling from west to east. Don't forget to stop at Waterton Lakes while you're in the area as well. These 2 pics are all I have left on the computer and they were taken at Waterton Lakes.

Rod.

[clowe]

Definitely want to take a camera. Here's some pics at the summit from a trip in early July '06.

 

The goats were only about 20 feet away.