Play in the National Parks
by Frank Mungeam, Tour Guide
Our national parks protect areas of incredible history, geology and rugged beauty. The best way to experience the sensory pleasures of these national treasures is on two wheels (or feet). Bicycle Adventures tours seven national parks in five Western states, each with its own unique rewards.
Glacier National Park, Montana
Named for the huge rivers of ice which sculpted its dramatic peaks, Glacier National Park is a cyclist’s paradise.
On our Glacier-Banff-Jasper tour, we pedal past colorful alpine meadows on our way to our waterfront lodging at historic Lake McDonald Lodge. The next day we cycle one of the premiere one-day rides anywhere, the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
“The roadway provides a year’s worth of extraordinary mountain scenery in one trip, and really is the best (and only) way to sample all of Glacier’s magnificence in a single day.” — Outside
“The roadway provides a year’s worth of extraordinary mountain scenery in one trip, and really is the best (and only) way to sample all of Glacier’s magnificence in a single day,” writes Outside magazine.
The day’s route passes cascading waterfalls amid lush forests. Sweeping vistas of mountain-clad peaks soften the 21-mile climb to Logan Pass and the Continental Divide.
Wildlife abounds at this elevation. Mountain goats and bighorn sheep can be seen in the distance. Riders reap the reward for their climb with a 20-mile descent toward our second night’s park lodging at Many Glacier Hotel overlooking Swiftcurrent Lake.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Cyclists’ jaws literally drop when they see Crater Lake’s deep blue waters for the first time.
“It’s hard to believe such a violent and cataclysmic event could create so much beauty,” says tour guide David Gillin.
Crater Lake was born in a massive eruption nearly 8,000 years ago. It sheared off the top third of Mt. Mazama, leaving a five-mile-wide crater that now contains the country’s deepest natural lake.
Bicycling magazine has called the 33-mile loop around the crater rim one of the top one-day rides in America.
“You have an ample shoulder, smooth pavement, very little car traffic and stunning views at every turn,” says Gillin. “It’s pretty close to cycling Nirvana.”
While at the park, our guests stay perched atop the rim at Crater Lake Lodge. A short hiking trail from the lodge gives visitors the chance to view the lake from the summit of Garfield Peak, with vistas that span three states.
Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington
During our Volcanoes of Washington tour, cyclists literally pedal to Paradise, the aptly named lodge at the end of the paved road to Mt. Rainier National Park. At 14,410 feet, Rainier is the nation’s tallest volcano and the fifth highest peak in the contiguous U.S. It dominates the horizon from Seattle to Portland.
To reach Paradise on Rainier, riders climb 24 miles on lightly traveled roads in an evergreen forest where waterfalls gush with glacial snowmelt.
We stay two nights near the park, enabling us to spend our second day exploring the hiking trails around the lodge. In July and August, wildflowers explode in dazzling displays, reclaiming alpine meadows from their winter snow pack. Fiery paintbrush, lavender lupine, and sunny aster are among the 40 species of wildflowers that create a symphony of color.
Riders reap the rewards for climbing Rainier when we cruise down the mountain on a quiet country road toward our next destination, Mt. St. Helens.
Olympic National Park, Washington
Our San Juan Islands-Victoria trip touches Olympic National Park, a lush and diverse rainforest where Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, and hemlock thrive.
“The huge old growth forests are enchanting,” says tour guide Mark Wojahn. “I look at them sometimes and think there must be elves living there inside those hollow fallen logs!”
Guests have the option of hiking and exploring these magical woodlands above spectacular Lake Crescent, where eagles often soar overhead. Or they can choose to cycle through the forest along parts of Lake Crescent's shoreline.
We end the week a mile high, cycling up famed Hurricane Ridge, where vibrant wildflowers vie for attention with snow-capped 7,965-foot Mt. Olympus.
Bryce and Zion National Parks, Utah
The Bryce-Zion tours visit two spectacular yet distinctive national parks in a single trip. At Bryce Canyon National Park, we bike and hike amidst an amphitheater of thousands of mystical “hoodoos,” towering spires of sandstone carved into other-worldly shapes by the patient forces of wind, water and time.
We also shuttle into the park at sunrise to witness the slanting rays of dawn paint the steep canyon walls in ever-changing pastel hues.
The deep canyon of Zion National Park was carved over millions of years by the delicate but persistent Virgin River. On each side of Zion Canyon, sandstone cliffs soar two thousand feet high, bearing biblical names like The Watchman, The Great White Throne, and Angel’s Landing.
Guest Barb Bartel appreciated pedaling the canyon on a road open only to bikes and shuttle buses. “I realized I was not just visiting the park but that I was actually experiencing it,” says Bartel. “If I had been sitting in a car looking out the window, I would have missed much of the beauty and sense of awe that nature creates.”
The hikes at Zion are equally spectacular, from picturesque Emerald Pools to the vertigo-inducing heights of Angel’s Landing to the slot canyon river trail through the Narrows.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Our Hawaii bike tour of the Big Island offers more than sun and sand. We spend two days at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, home to Kilauea, the world’s longest-erupting active volcano.
Our bike ride around Kilauea Crater looks across a lunar landscape of lava.
“The road around the park was spacious for biking,” recalls guest Nancy Harootunian. “There were plenty of places to stop in the park, take pictures, pull over and take a break. My favorite part was the hike in Kilauea, where we were actually in the crater — you could imagine the volcano erupting.”
At dusk, we travel down Chain of Craters Road to the sea, where hundreds gather at sunset in hopes of witnessing rivers of lava glow in the night as they flow down the flanks of the mountain and pour into the sea, sending plumes of steam soaring skyward.