Trip Summary Trip Dates: Jul 04 - Sep 20 Start - End Locations: Frisco, CO - Frisco, CO Route Notes: CANCELLED Days: 79   Rest Days: 12   Level of Support: Self-contained Miles: 3971 Average Miles Per Day: 60 Surface: Road Riders: 14 Type: Self-Contained   Meals: Shared cooking Accommodations: Camping Physical Difficulty: Advanced   Airport: Denver, CO Cost: $3999 Booking Status: Closed

We’re offering something truly special in 2008—the first-ever running of the Great Western Loop expedition tour. This self-contained ride starts and ends in Frisco, Colorado, traveling through some of the most spectacular national parks and monuments in the western United States, covering almost 4,000 miles in eleven weeks.

The Great Western Loop takes in parts of four classic Adventure Cycling routes: the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, the Lewis & Clark Trail, the Pacific Coast Route, and the Western Express Route. The big loop crosses the Continental Divide numerous times and passes through mining districts, open mountain meadows and shimmering aspen groves, remote ranches, wine-country vineyards, beachside dunes, towering redwood forests, and the red-rock canyon country of the Southwest.

The tour gets off to a breathtaking start at 9,100 feet, high in the Colorado mountain town of Frisco. We’ll ride north into the ranching country of North Park before continuing into Wyoming. From Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, we’ll cross Teton Pass and drop into the “quiet side” of the Tetons in Teton Valley, Idaho. From there, we’ll wend our way north through grain fields and past waterfalls to the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

Entering the Big Sky State of Montana, we’ll visit historic ghost towns in the Big Hole Valley before cresting Chief Joseph Pass and coasting into the Bitterroot Valley. In Missoula, we’ll be treated to a barbecue at Adventure Cycling’s world headquarters.

Following in the tracks of Lewis and Clark, we’ll ride over Lolo Pass into Idaho, ultimately heading down into Hell’s Canyon of the Snake River and entering Oregon. Once we ride over the high Cascades and the thickly forested Coast Range, we’ll turn south at Florence to begin basking in the incomparable beauty of the Pacific Coast. In California,  we’ll visit enchanting seaside settlements like Eureka and Mendocino; and then, just north of San Francisco, we’ll detour east to follow the Russian River inland to the wine country of the Sonoma and Napa valleys.

After making the climb out of Napa County, we'll join the Western Express Route east of Sacramento, making the gradual climb along the remote Mormon Emigrant Trail to the summit of the Sierra Nevada at Kirkwood. The ensuing descent takes us through Carson City and onward, for a week in Nevada's storied basin-and-range country, where we’ll follow the old Pony Express route along U.S. Highway 50, the “Loneliest Road in America.”

Our arrival in Cedar City, Utah, brings us to the colorful Southwest canyon country. Here we’ll view fantastic scenery and bizarre rock formations in a panoramic parade of Utah national parks and monuments: Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Capitol Reef, Lake Powell, and Natural Bridges.

The final leg of the tour takes us back into Colorado, where the quaking aspens will be at the peak of their fall colors. Highlights here include Mesa Verde National Park, Telluride, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Crested Butte, wildflower (and mountain bike) capital of the Centennial State. After a couple of final crossings of the Continental Divide, we’ll be back on our way to Frisco and the trip's conclusion.

No doubt about it: This adventure truly does encompass the best of the West.

For more detailed information, see Self Contained trip logistics.

READY TO GO?
You can sign up for the Great Western Loop now. Go to our online sign-up.