Cycling on Snow not Allowed in Yellowstone During Winter

http://www.mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/article_94c8ecaa-188e-11e0-bcad-001cc4c03286.html


....."It's not one of the approved means of winter travel," said Tim Reid, Yellowstone's chief ranger.

Under Yellowstone's winter management plan, the only ways to enter the park in winter are by approved snowmobiles and snowcoaches, on cross-country skis or snowshoes.....

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

That's freakin nuts. Snowmobiles have a lot more impact on the natural world. Let 'em ride their bikes!

Yeah, I'm not to sure I understand why they would allow snowmobiles but not bikes. Seems like it wouldn't cause any more damage than cross-country skiers, and less damage than snowmobiles.

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dqniel
Yeah, I'm not to sure I understand why they would allow snowmobiles but not bikes. Seems like it wouldn't cause any more damage than cross-country skiers, and less damage than snowmobiles.

There is a "bike season" in Yellowstone in the springtime after the roads are closed to oversnow vehicles and before they are open to all vehicles. Do you think bikes should be allowed on trails summer or winter? Unfortunately, they are not allowed many places even in the summer in the western National Parks that I am familiar with.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

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Frank Furter

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dqniel
Yeah, I'm not to sure I understand why they would allow snowmobiles but not bikes. Seems like it wouldn't cause any more damage than cross-country skiers, and less damage than snowmobiles.

There is a "bike season" in Yellowstone in the springtime after the roads are closed to oversnow vehicles and before they are open to all vehicles. Do you think bikes should be allowed on trails summer or winter? Unfortunately, they are not allowed many places even in the summer in the western National Parks that I am familiar with.

I don't think they want unapproved transport on trails (bikes aren't legal there except on dry pavement) and I suppose there might be issues with other trasportation on the main roads.

BTW - Point Reyes NS does have quite a few wide fire roads that are open to bicycles.

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y_p_w


I don't think they want unapproved transport on trails (bikes aren't legal there except on dry pavement) and I suppose there might be issues with other trasportation on the main roads.

There are number of summer bike tracks that are off-pavement in Yellowstone, mostly old roadbeds that are closed to cars. But, given the options for horses, bikes are quite restricted. It seems like the NPS commonly issues statistics on how few people get into the backcountry: seems like bikes would be a good way to encourage that. I can't imagine that a bike is more disruptive or destructive than a horse so long as it remains on the trail.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

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Frank Furter
It seems like the NPS commonly issues statistics on how few people get into the backcountry: seems like bikes would be a good way to encourage that.

But do we really want to encourage more people in the backcountry?