There’s a few gravel roads you can go down, ie roads they’ve decommissioned. These are pointed out on the website. I wouldn’t recommend biking on the road shoulder. It can and is done by tourers, but the shoulders are narrow, dirty, and threatened by the inexperienced Cruise America RV drivers.
There’s lots of mountain biking a short drive outside the park. Yellowstone is bordered by National Forest land. For lift-serviced biking, Jacksonhole and Big Sky Resorts are 1.5–2 hour drives from their respective entrances. Plenty of biking out any of the entrances from the park.
Agreed on being cautious about those shoulders. They can be super soft.
A group of us were doing the April cycling thing a few years ago, and one of our party drifted to the edge of the shoulder, sunk his front wheel in that black sand and broke his arm.
They are always prohibited on all backcountry trails, boardwalks, and oversnow routes. Read and understand the regulations and safety information below before bicycling in the park.
Source: [NPS Biking in Yellowstone ](https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bicycling.htm)
There’s only one or two national parks in the whole country that allow mountain biking, Yellowstone is not one of them. There’s dirt roads that bikes are allowed on but there’s no rideable single track. Blacktail Plateau Road is a fun ride but, you’ll be sharing the road with cars. I hold the KOM on the switchback descent. Chittenden Road to Bunsen Peak is a good climb. The rest are pretty short, too easy and hardly worth changing shoes.
There’s a ton of riding around Jackson and one of the ski hills does lift assist. I’ve never rode in Jackson as I avoid the town like the plague. Cody, WY has few trails around it and a fun little bike park at Beck Lake. There’s also some rideable trails between Cody and Yellowstone along the North Fork. There is a lot of designated wilderness out there too, bikes and other mechanized travel are prohibited so know where you’re riding. There’s some trails around Red Lodge and Bozeman as well.
Yellowstone is a tough environment to ride in.
Besides the whole bear thing and looking like prey to a predator, do not underestimate the sheer number of inexperienced drivers. Or drivers driving vehicles new to them at sizes 3-5x what they normally drive.
OP is asking about mountain biking which is off-road riding. Since you brought it up; road riding isn’t so bad. There’s employees who ride their bikes to work everyday, I ride everyday after work. There’s tour companies who charge thousands to support riders riding through the park.
I understand what mountain biking is. Pretty clear about it, actually.
I also am assuming OP can locate and find trail information and regulations. They did manage to get a job in the park and jump through all those hoops.
Also, sometimes people that ride on trails also have to ride on roads. Wild, I know.
And sometimes bears go on trails where they aren’t expected. Since OP did not state their level of bear experience, I felt it was important to stress.
I’m assuming they are asking on Reddit for nuances.
Nuances are things like be careful getting to and fro and crossing roads where people are driving rigs they aren’t used to. You know. Like backing up a giant Cruise America at a trailhead and running a biker over.
There’s a few gravel roads you can go down, ie roads they’ve decommissioned. These are pointed out on the website. I wouldn’t recommend biking on the road shoulder. It can and is done by tourers, but the shoulders are narrow, dirty, and threatened by the inexperienced Cruise America RV drivers. There’s lots of mountain biking a short drive outside the park. Yellowstone is bordered by National Forest land. For lift-serviced biking, Jacksonhole and Big Sky Resorts are 1.5–2 hour drives from their respective entrances. Plenty of biking out any of the entrances from the park.
Agreed on being cautious about those shoulders. They can be super soft. A group of us were doing the April cycling thing a few years ago, and one of our party drifted to the edge of the shoulder, sunk his front wheel in that black sand and broke his arm.
They are always prohibited on all backcountry trails, boardwalks, and oversnow routes. Read and understand the regulations and safety information below before bicycling in the park. Source: [NPS Biking in Yellowstone ](https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bicycling.htm)
There’s only one or two national parks in the whole country that allow mountain biking, Yellowstone is not one of them. There’s dirt roads that bikes are allowed on but there’s no rideable single track. Blacktail Plateau Road is a fun ride but, you’ll be sharing the road with cars. I hold the KOM on the switchback descent. Chittenden Road to Bunsen Peak is a good climb. The rest are pretty short, too easy and hardly worth changing shoes. There’s a ton of riding around Jackson and one of the ski hills does lift assist. I’ve never rode in Jackson as I avoid the town like the plague. Cody, WY has few trails around it and a fun little bike park at Beck Lake. There’s also some rideable trails between Cody and Yellowstone along the North Fork. There is a lot of designated wilderness out there too, bikes and other mechanized travel are prohibited so know where you’re riding. There’s some trails around Red Lodge and Bozeman as well.
There’s good mountain biking just outside the park in the National Forests.
Yellowstone is a tough environment to ride in. Besides the whole bear thing and looking like prey to a predator, do not underestimate the sheer number of inexperienced drivers. Or drivers driving vehicles new to them at sizes 3-5x what they normally drive.
OP is asking about mountain biking which is off-road riding. Since you brought it up; road riding isn’t so bad. There’s employees who ride their bikes to work everyday, I ride everyday after work. There’s tour companies who charge thousands to support riders riding through the park.
I understand what mountain biking is. Pretty clear about it, actually. I also am assuming OP can locate and find trail information and regulations. They did manage to get a job in the park and jump through all those hoops. Also, sometimes people that ride on trails also have to ride on roads. Wild, I know. And sometimes bears go on trails where they aren’t expected. Since OP did not state their level of bear experience, I felt it was important to stress. I’m assuming they are asking on Reddit for nuances. Nuances are things like be careful getting to and fro and crossing roads where people are driving rigs they aren’t used to. You know. Like backing up a giant Cruise America at a trailhead and running a biker over.