I was out that way last year, spent a bunch of days in Dubois and Cody. I love the Rockies, some great riding no matter where you go. Here's my thoughts, in no particular order, take it or leave it.
- Anything within 100 miles of the gates of the national parks are bound to be full or if there's availability, very expensive.
- If you're camping, the days are nice, but the nights are very cool.
- We initially chose Dubois (pronounced Doo-Boys)as a home base, thinking it was far enough from the entrances to Yellowstone / Grand Teton to be affordable, but close enough to day trip into the National Parks. From Dubois it took about an hour or so (traffic) to get to the parks, but I would NOT recommend riding motorcycles in the National Parks. It's packed, bumper to bumper traffic, with little opportunity for passing, poor sightlines around corners, stupid tourists that stop in the middle of the road to take a picture of an animal, and NP Rangers all over the place. The National Parks are beautiful, I'm sure, but the best way to see them is to ride in, STAY in the park a couple of days off the bike, and then go about your way. Day tripping, or going in thinking you're going to get a nice ride in, is a mistake. Also, once you get in, your options to get out again are slim to none. AND (but wait, there's more) when we were there last year there was major road construction in the Parks. Supposed to be done this year, but traffic was backed up for hours and miles - and again, there's no easy escape route.
- If you stay in Dubois, I'd HIGHLY recommend the Stagecoach Motor Inn. Great people, great town, their pool is fantastic and the rates were reasonable:
http://stagecoachmotel-dubois.com/
- Things got much better in Cody. It's a much bigger town (all things considered) and you HAVE to go to their rodeo. It's billed as the world's best / largest / I can't remember, but Cody is apparently the rodeo capital of the world. They have one on every single night. Eat at Bubba's BBQ.
- Cody is good access to some of the roads that people mentioned earlier. Chief Joseph / Beartooth is epic. No words can describe.
- If you're in the area, and either on the way there or the way back, you will be, make sure you spend some time in SD. Iron Mountain Road, if it's not clogged with cruisers, is another epic road. Devil's Mountain is worth a visit, and the Crazy Horse monument is absolutely worth it. Visit it before you go to Mt. Rushmore.
However, all in all, it wasn't worth the trip. Why, you ask? Because it took so frickin' long to get there. I'm a long-distance rider, and I'm used to putting in serious miles, but even so it took 4 days to get there, 4 days back. That's 8 days of commuting on superslab to get and from good roads.
I promised myself, after 2 trips to CO/UT and once out to WY/MT that I wouldn't ride out that way again. Trailer? Maybe, but if what I'm looking for is great roads, I can find comparable in NC/TN, which are WAY closer.
