Start Date:

Jul 11, 2020

End Date:

Jul 20, 2020

Start Location:

Whitefish, MT

End Location:

Whitefish, MT

Total Days:

10

Riding Days:

8

Rest Days:

2

Miles:

351

Average Daily Mileage:

43.9

Surface:

Paved

Riders:

13

Elevation Alert:

High Point: 6647'

Airport:

Glacier Park Intl. (FCA)

Tour Leader:

Alan Brown

Meals:

Indoor Dining

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Meals - Indoor Dining

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for each day of the trip. On inn-to-inn trips, breakfast and dinner are provided in eating establishments on the route; lunch is prepared in the morning and you carry it with you on your bike. Vegetarian and special dietary needs will be accommodated, though food selection may be limited in some locations.

Accommodations:

Indoor (Inn to Inn)

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Accommodations - Indoor (Inn to Inn)

Overnights are at prearranged motels and hotels each night. Price is based on double occupancy. Single supplement may be available.

Physical Difficulty:

Advanced

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Physical Difficulty - Advanced

Characterized by consistently undulating terrain and relatively longer distances (60+ miles per day). Advanced tours may also feature steep grades (greater than 6%) for extended periods. These tours are best suited for more experienced cyclists or folks with a higher fitness level.

Most of our longer (more than two weeks) self-contained tours are rated as Advanced or Advanced+. This has less to do with high mileages or unrelenting climbs, and more to do with the tour length, group roles and rotations, and the added challenges of riding loaded bicycles on lengthy tours.

Level of Support:

Inn to Inn

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Level Of Support - Inn to Inn

On Adventure Cycling's inn-to-inn self-contained trips, riders carry their gear, but there's a lot less of it because participants stay in hotels and eat in restaurants every night, no camping or group cooking gear is needed.

Cost:

$2,799.00

Single Supplement:

$880.00

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Single Supplement

This tour will use motels/hotels for overnight accommodations. The standard price includes double occupancy. If traveling solo, you will be placed with a same gender roommate. If you are interested in a single supplement for an additional fee, please check with the Tours office, 800.611.8687 or send us an email at tours@adventurecycling.org.

Restricted Bike Type:

eBike, eTrike

Overview

Going-to-the-Sun Road was conceived as a way to permit visitors a glimpse of Glacier National Park’s mountainous interior without the need to travel by foot or horseback. Completed in 1932 after 11 years of work, this engineering and scenic marvel accounts for only one day of our spectacular Glacier-Waterton Loop!

From Whitefish, we’ll visit Fernie, British Columbia, then head east and crest the Continental Divide at Crowsnest Pass before rolling through Alberta prairies en route to Waterton Lakes National Park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cross-border Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park features unmatched splendor.

Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

Day 1

Whitefish, Montana, 0 miles. We’ll gather in the late afternoon in Whitefish, where we'll stay for the night. If you arrive early you might consider renting a fat bike at the nearby Whitefish Mountain Resort and trying out some of the mountain’s 20 miles of mountain biking trails. You can ride to the top of the mountain in a chairlift and enjoy 2,200 vertical feet of gravity-powered fun!

Day 2

Whitefish to Eureka, 63 miles. Today’s ride is the longest of the entire trip. You’ll pedal over gently rolling terrain with the Whitefish Range rising to your right and the Salish and Purcell mountains on your left. We’ll head for Eureka by way of the heavily timbered valleys of the Stillwater and Tobacco Rivers. In Eureka, the Tobacco River Historical Village brings to life this long-isolated area’s Native American culture and railroading and logging industries.

Day 3

Eureka to Fernie, British Columbia, 50 miles. We’ll enjoy rolling terrain today as we pass into Canada. About 20 miles into the ride, you’ll have the option of detouring onto the Jaffray-Baynes Lake Road, following a stretch of the Canadian extension of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route to the town of Elko. It’s a few miles longer than the main route, but the superior scenery and lower traffic counts make it worth the additional effort. Fernie is a bustling resort town with good bike shops and all kinds of activities.

Day 4

Fernie to Blairmore, Alberta, 43 miles. Today we’ll tackle the 32-mile-long gradual ascent from Fernie to the 4,457-foot summit of Crowsnest Pass and the Alberta border. Lucky for us, what goes up must come down, so the long climb is followed by a great downhill run. You may be tempted to zip through the town of Coleman, but it’s definitely worth applying the brakes long enough to visit the Crowsnest Museum, with its exhibits on mining, wildlife, and pioneer life.

Day 5

Blairmore to Pincher Creek, 31 miles. Out of the mountains we go and into big ranching country, formerly the domain of the Blackfeet, Peigan, and Kootenai nations. The terrain is rolling and the wind considerable, which explains why power-generating wind turbines are becoming more common in the area. Today’s relatively short mileage should leave plenty of time to explore Pincher Creek’s fine Kootenai Brown Pioneer Museum, named in honor of the trapper who was key to the establishment of Waterton Lakes National Park and served as its first superintendent.

Day 6

Pincher Creek to Waterton Village, 37 miles. The first 10 miles or so of today’s ride entail long, rolling hills, which give way to more level terrain that will take us into Waterton Lakes National Park. Before hitting our lodging for the night, you might want to detour into the historic Prince of Wales Hotel to view its immense lobby, relax with a hot drink, and take in the gorgeous views of expansive Upper Waterton Lake and the mountains beyond. America’s Great Northern Railway built this iconic, grand hotel during the Prohibition era as a way of luring Americans north of the border, where they could still legally imbibe.

Day 7

Waterton Village, 0 miles. Layover day. Waterton Lakes is a wonderful place for a rest day. There’s hiking, mountain biking on singletrack trails, the boat ride to Crypt Lake, fishing, movies at the Opera House, horseback riding, and kayak rentals at Cameron Lake. Or you could simply perch on a rock like a marmot, admiring and meditating on your incredible surroundings.

Day 8

Waterton Village to St. Mary, Montana, 48 miles. Today’s ride involves a considerable amount of climbing as we summit Chief Mountain pass. Just south of Babb, Montana, the dead-end Many Glacier Road runs about 12 miles to the magnificent Many Glacier Lodge, perched on the equally spectacular Swiftcurrent Lake. If you have the time and energy, don’t miss this side trip.

Day 9

St. Mary to Apgar, 50 miles. Today you’ll go up the big hill and down the spectacular Going-to-the-Sun Road. The steady, gradual climb to the summit begins about 10 miles inside Glacier National Park. From the summit, the descent is noticeably steeper than the climb. Whether you’re going up or down, don’t forget to stop and look around now and then because you’ll be riding in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Day 10

Apgar to Whitefish, 29 miles. The tour ends back in Whitefish after an easy ride. It includes four miles of the unpaved Blankenship Road, which we take in order to avoid busy U.S. Highway 2 between Hungry Horse and Columbia Falls. At the end of the day, we’ll hold a celebration lunch and toast to a ride well done!

"The scenery was amazing! The cool weather was much appreciated and the search for pie and ice cream made for a fun daily quest."

"Glacier National Park is a must-see for anyone. I've been on Going to the Sun Road three other times in a car or van, and it’s nothing like the beauty of being open to the whole grandeur of the road."

"The daily challenge and sharing of stories, the amazing one and only Going to the Sun road. If this is not on your bucket list, put it there!"

"The ride across Going to the Sun Highway was spectacular. Not even road construction and tourist traffic could diminish it one iota. A once in a life bucket list check mark. This tour highlighted why I love cycling - it’s a full sensory experience. You see, hear, feel, smell and touch the world of your tour."