Road Rube Rides
Chief Joseph Scenic Byway
Wyoming
It's awesome.
Distance: 45 miles
Time: 57 minutes
Chief Joseph Scenic Byway 296 is awesome. Period.
If I were to put together a perfect combination of speed, twists and turns, and scenery, I would use Chief Joseph Scenic Byway 296 as the model. It runs from 15 miles east of Cooke City, Montana off the Beartooth Highway and culminates about 20 miles outside of Cody, Wyoming. It is one of my favorites rides in the country.
The Road
Take Wyoming 296 south off of the Beartooth Highway 45 miles.
The Ride
The combination of having a 65-mph speed limit to open up the bike and terrific twists and turns, switchbacks, and sweeping, majestic scenery makes this ride at the top of my awesome scale. The ride makes you shift through the gears up and down, twisting the throttle back and shifting up to speed out of curves and up hills. Then it drops and makes you downshift and let the motor take you down the hills. And repeat. But it’s not repeat as in being repetitive – it’s just using all your riding skills in different and interesting and beautiful ways. Did I mention awesome? It’s awesome.
The Bottom Line
Um…awesome.
