Points along the way
We tied together multiple routes from the Adventure Cycling Association to create a route that tied together a few select places: start in Boston, pass through Niagara Falls, Montana, and Portland Oregon; end on the Oregon coast. Leaving the detailed routing in the hands of the ACA saved us a lot of work. The ACA works pretty hard to avoid gravel roads, state highways, and interstate freeways; sometimes taking very roundabout or less pleasant alternatives. In general, we had a pretty good experience with the ACA routing. We found a few cyclists that had very bad experiences on some of the ACA-selected roads. We also found a few cyclists that treated the ACA routes as gospel.
We left the ACA routes at a couple of select points where we wanted to take a more direct path, needed to find a campsite, or had an opportunity to take some gravel bike path or gravel road that was more scenic than the ACA recommendation.
We used portions of the following ACA map sets on our journey, in order of use for our westbound journey from Boston to Seaside:
- Northern Tier section 10
- Lake Erie Connector section 1
- North Lakes sections 3, 2, 1
- Norther Tier sections 6, 5, 4
- Lewis and Clark sections 4, 5, 6, 7 (this route is westbound, as opposed to the other routes which are numbered for the more typical eastbound journey)
Some points along the way:
Boston MA - PIttsfield MA - Troy NY - Niagara Falls NY - Niagara Falls ON - Port Stanley ON - Marine City MI - Mackinaw City MI - Escanaba MI - Phelps WI - St Croix WI - Dalbo MN - Bemidji MN - Itasca State Park MN (Mississippi headwaters) - Fargo ND - Bismarck ND - Medora ND (Theodore Roosevelt National Park) - Glendive MT - Lewiston MT - Fort Benton MT - Great Falls MT - Helena MT - Big Hole National Battlefield MT - Missoula MT - Clarkston WA - Portland OR - Seaside OR
The full list of campsites and the occasional motel, highly recommended sites (would go out of my way to stay here) are bold:
Sturbridge MA - Wells Park $18.00
Ludlow MA - stayed with family
Goshen MA - DAR State Forest $18.00
Pittsfield MA - Pittsfield State Forest $18.00
Waterford NY - Lock 2 Erie Canal $0.00
Amsterdam NY - Valley View Motor Inn $26.00
Fort Plain NY - Lock 15 Erie Canal $0.00
Utica NY - Lock 20 Erie Canal $0.00
Fayetteville NY - Green Lakes State Park $23
Seneca Falls NY - Oak Orchard Marina $29
Macedon NY - Lock 30 $0.00
Holley NY - City Park $0.00 ... best shower of the trip
Niagara Falls NY - Rodeway Inn and Suites
Niagara Falls ON - Ramada Niagara Falls/Fallsview
Niagara Falls ON - Ramada Niagara Falls/Fallsview
Dunnville ON - Rock Point Provincial Park CDN$28?
Turkey Point ON - Turkey Point Provincial Park CDN$28?
Port Stanley ON - on the beach $0.00
Morpeth ON - Rondeau Provincial Park CDN$28?
Sombra ON - Branton-Cundick CDN$15
Yale MI - Yale Hotel $35.00
Otter Lake MI - Otter Lake RV Park $20.00
Bay City MI - Bay City State Park
Clare MI - Herrick Recreation Area
Carrieville MI - Carrieville State Campground (primitive)
Interlochen MI - Interlochen State Park in the primitive section ... Best swimming lake!
Bellaire MI - Warm showers host
Wilderness State Park MI - Wilderness State Park
St. Ignace MI - Straits State Park
Naubinway MI - Hog Island State Park (primitive)
Manistique MI - Indian Lake State Park
Escanaba MI - UP State Fairgrounds $0.00
Crystal Falls MI - Glidden Lake State Forest Campground $13
Lake Ottawa MI - Lake Ottawa $16
Boulder Junction MI - Camp Holiday on Rudolph Lake $39
Glidden WI - Marion Park w flush toilets and running water $0
Springbrook WI - Canoe camp on the Namekagon River $0
Cumberland WI - Eagle Point Park $20
Cumberland WI - Eagle Point Park $20
St. Croix Falls WI - Interstate Park
Dalbo MN - Dan's Bicycle Bunkhouse $0 ... a 'must stop' for bicycle tourists
Bowlus MN - Jordie's Cafe $0
Nisswa MN - Fritz's Camp/Resort $20
Leech Lake nr Walker MN - Moonlight Bay $28
Itasca State Park MN - Itasca State Park $23
Callaway MN - City Park w pit toilet and nice covered shelter $0
Fargo ND - family backyard $0
Little Yellowstone ND - Little Yellowstone (primitive) $10
Gackle ND - Honey Bicycle Bunkhouse, suggested donation
Hazelton ND - City RV Park w covered shelter, shower & running water $10
Bismarck ND - General Sibley Park $11 (shared) ... highly recommend site 87 $22/night, normal tent-only is $10
Bismarck ND - General Sibley Park $10
Glen Ullin ND - Memorial Park w decent pit toilets and water $5
Dickenson ND - Patterson Lake Recreation Area w pit toilets and far away water source $16
Madora ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground $7 (shared)
Madora ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground $7
Madora ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground $14
Madora ND - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground $14
Madora MT - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Cottonwood Campground $14
Glendive MT - Makashita State Park $18 with MT state park pass
Circle MT - Horse Creek RV & Campground $10 ($20 if include cost of 2x$5 showers at nearby gas station)
Jordan MT - City Park w toilet, no water $0
Winnett MT - City Park w sprinklers, no toilet, water from garden hose $0
Lewistown MT - Kiwanis rest stop $5 donation
Denton MT - City Park w flush toilet and running water $0
Fort Benton MT - Fort Benton Park $0
Fort Benton MT - Eagle Creek canoe site
Fort Benton MT - Hole in the wall canoe site
Fort Benton MT - Slaughter River canoe site
Fort Benton MT - Fort Benton Fairgrounds $10
Great Falls MT - Dicks RV Park $20
Holter Lake MT - Holter Lake State Rec Area $15 ... beautiful but off route and really tough hill to get to camp
Townsend MT - Silos Lake (primitive) $10
Lewis & Clark Caverns MT - Lewis & Clark Caverns $18 with MT state park pass
Dillon MT - Dillon KOA $20
Wisdom MT - Memorial Park (primitive), suggested donation
Darby MT - RV Park against fence $15
Missoula MT - family friend's house
Lolo Hot Springs MT - Lolo Hot Springs $40 for cabin incl hot spring pass
Kooskia ID - Knife's Edge Campground (primitive boat access site) $0
Kamiah ID - rental house loaned to us by a very kind person that we met
Lewiston ID - Hells Gate State Park $22
Pomeroy WA - Pomeroy Fairgrounds with running water and showers $10
Walla Walla WA - warm showers host
Umatilla OR - RV park next to bridge over Columbia $20
Roosevelt WA - Core Of Engineers park w running water and showers $0 ... beware of sprinklers
Celilo OR - Celilo Park $0
Cascade Locks OR - Cascade Locks Marine Park $20
Portland OR - family
Clatskanie OR - City Park $5
Seaside OR