Les and Jamie, the Un-Czars, asked me to do some legwork on accomodations in Cody, including negotiating some group discounts.
I'll be using this thread to post information as it is acquired.
PLEASE--to make this thread as uncluttered as possible please DO NOT POST ON THIS THREAD UNLESS you have solid information on accomodations.
THANKS

FIRST INSTALLMENT: (For group rate let them know you are from BMWSportTouring

Blair Hotels --

These three are all on the same property, about a mile from the Ponderosa Campground. They share a pool and there are a couple of restaurants. Phone (800)527-5544

Holiday Inn--25 rooms-- $109 Single/Double

Comfort Inn--50 rooms-- $119 single/double

Buffalo Bill Village--25 cabins--1 BR/1 bath $99
2 BR/2 bath $119


Best Value Inn and BV Inn West
(307)587-4258

They will begin booking rooms after January 1st. Please don't call before then.
Same prices both locations.
Best Value Inn is 1/2 mi from the Ponderosa. 24 rooms available.
Best Value Inn West is across the street from the Ponderosa. It is new to the owners and will be open by the time the season starts. 40 rooms. Pool and Continental Bkfst. S/D $75/$82


Days Inn
(307)527-6604
52 rooms--King Bed S/D $125/135
2 Queen Beds same price
Pool/spa/ Cont. bkfst. The photos look very nice.
(They were not willing to discuss a group rate. Expedia and other booking sites claim lower prices.)


Irma Hotel
(307)587-4221
40 rooms--no pool, etc.
Founded by Buffalo Bill Cody and named for his daughter, this is a 101-year old hotel. It has both modern and Victorian rooms and is in downtown Cody.
Historical room S/D $117/125
Modern rooms $77/85

I'm awaiting contact from a few other lodgings, incl. the Super 8, Skyline Motor Inn, and Best Western.
Watch for postings here.

CAMPING IN AND AROUND CODY

(Area Code is 307)
Ponderosa Campground, Un-HQ, Cody. 587-9203
Recommended by several knowledgeable folks around Cody as the nicest one in town. Check Leslie's details.....about the campground!

--Absaroka Bay Campground, Cody. 527-7440
Ugly! Few trees, lots of RVs parked cheek-by-jowl.

--KOA, Cody. 587-2369
Typical KOA. Few trees.

--Buffalo Bill State Park 587-9227
Both parks around the lake are already booked.

I have no detailed info on the following. Only that they do have tent spaces.

--Camp Cody. 587-9730

--7Ks RV Park. 587-5890

--Gateway Campground. 587-2561

--Green Creek Inn & RV Park. 587-5004

--Parkway RV Campground. 527-5927

--River's View RV Park. 587-6074

These are a bit further away:

--Yellowstone Valley Inn, Wapiti (15 mi W of Cody. 587-3961
(I've heard this is a very nice place. About 15 mi. from Cody. I would expect less noise, activity, etc.) Very nice folks on the phone.

--Park County Fairgrounds, Powell (about 18 mi NE of Cody). 754-5421

--Vision Quest Campground, Meeteetse (24 mi SE of Cody). 868-2512

--Oasis Motel and RV Park, Meeteetse. 868-2551

**There are state campgrounds in the Shoshone National Forest, west, southwest, and northwest of Cody, rates are $5-15 per night. These are on a first-come basis.
For more info on these visit www.fs.fed.us/r2/shoshone

BURL INN

40 Rooms available. 9 blocks from Un-HQ in Cody.

They will give us a special price of $75 (usually $90) for 2-4 people per room.

Identify yourself as part of BMWSportTouring.

They are closed at present, but you can leave a message and Carleen will return your call within a week or two. They reopen in Feb.

Stan Compton just checked with Verna at the Carriage House Inn, just across from the Ponderosa Campground. (That's Headquarters.....not Hindquarters!)

They still have 3 guesthouses available:
Two queen bedrooms $135/night
Two queen bedrooms and a single bedroom $135/night
One that has three rooms, each with a queen bed $150/night

If I remember correctly, these are actual houses and are about 3/4 mile from the campground.

Stan has a couple of rooms he'd like to share. Contact him if interested.

I guess I had better call them the Two queen bedrooms and a single bedroom $135/night should already have my name on it.

There is an old motel that has been renovated and managed by a nice young couple named "downtown motel" or "downtown inn". very reasonable, clean and walking distance to downtown and restaurants.

Burl Inn's phone number is (307) 587-2084

Thanks for the extra input, gents.

If anyone has further questions, feel free to PM me and I'll try to run down answers for you.

doc47

Greetings from cold and snowy Wyoming! I live in Lander, WY and work and play all around the western half of the State, so am familiar with camping and motel accomodations (and the RIDES!) in this region. I'm an avid outdoor-sports-oriented person, so I've spent lots of time in the mountains around Cody and in Yellowstone, the Tetons, Jackson Hole, the Big Horns and more. The Chief Joseph Scenic Highway through the Sunlight Basin is so outstanding it's hard to believe. Then you have your choice of looping through Cooke City into Yellowstone, or over the Beartooth Mountains to Red Lodge... So many rides, so little time!

As stated in another message, there is endless camping in the National Forests in the area, both in developed campgrounds and thousands of undeveloped areas. The thing to remember is this is GRIZZLY BEAR country and strict food storage/camp cleanliness regulations govern these areas. This is no joke, there are LOTS of bears (grizzlies and blacks) in the area (not to mention Bison, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, wolves, coyotes, moose etc.)! It's gorgeous country with lots of fabulous rides, but watch out for the critters! They aren't only on the roadways but may be in your camp as well!

I'd be happy to chat with anyone who might have specific questions on camping, just send a message! I would recommend against camping at Buffalo Bill State Park (west of Cody, on Buffalo Bill Reservoir) as it is rather desolate and ALWAYS windy and chucky full of RV's. The campgrounds further west (Wapiti area) are much nicer, and there are many guest lodges with camping areas as well as cabins.

I look forward to seeing you all in my "back yard" this July!

Hello, Doug -

I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood!

That, and to say "Thanks" for your posts about weather and accommodations for our upcoming visit to "your backyard" next summer. You will be meeting some good folks, and all are in for some great riding and good times.

I look forward to being there, and meeting you. Until then, I hope you enjoy participating in the forums.


Thanks again,

Hi DougR

Quote:

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I live in Lander, WY

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What was the name of the popular drive-in in Lander in the early 70's? A group of us HS students from St. Louis spent a week in the Medicine Bow range on an Advanced Biology Club Trip (right, and I soon learned about the teacher's daughter's "advances", but thats another story) and we all made a special trip to town to have a burger and watch the pick-ups drive by

Quote:

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I would recommend against camping at Buffalo Bill State Park (west of Cody, on Buffalo Bill Reservoir) as it is rather desolate and ALWAYS windy and chucky full of RV's.

---

Stayed there with my older 2 boys in '96, sleeping in the open on the tabletops, truly windy in mid summer. Had breakfast at B. Cody's old lodge. Glad I read a 50's era history book on Bill prior to stopping in Cody. The PC stuff today wouldn't let some of the facts out
Anyway, hope to be on a bike, but just in case, where would be the best place to park a 35' 5th wheel near the action?
Thanks

Hello, BigMak! The old drive-in in Lander was the "Dianne Theater"; it's long gone now and has been replaced with a retirement community (duplexes and an "inactivity center"). That's progress, I guess! If you were discovering biology (or was that human anatomy?) in the Medicine Bows, that's a long way from Lander! Were you really in the Wind River Mountains? Sounds like you were a little distracted by the teacher's daughter, hmmmmmm........... Speaking of the Bows, that's a nice ride, you go right through the glacial cirques at 11,000 feet on brand new asphalt and great twisties! The last time I was through that country I had to turn around and do it again it was so much fun!

A 35' fifth-wheel, yikes! I see in one of the listings in the phone book that the UnRally HQ, the Ponderosa Campround in Cody (307.587.9203, only three blocks west of the BBCody Museum, that's pretty close to the action) has 72' pull-throughs - is that for real? That's bigger than my house! I'm not real familiar with RV camps in general, but I know there are dozens in the Cody area. As stated in an earlier posting on the accomodations site, the prettier ones are West of Buffalo Bill Reservoir in the North Fork Shoshone River valley, but those places are at least fifteen miles west of town. The Forest Service CG's are even further out than that. Maybe your best bet would be to stay at the UnRally HQ, the Ponderosa. I have a topper on my truck that I camp out of, but if I do that it means I have to (GASP!!!) trailer the Beemer to the UnRally! Would you people think less of me for trailering the bike 160 miles just so I could camp in comfort in my truck? I guess I could stay in a MOTEL. Sheesh, what a dilemna....

Doug

Doug...
Solution is just pull the truck with the scoot to the UnRally....no harm, no foul!!!

See ya there.

Ha! I can just hear the wheels turning in everyone's heads, asking "How can I avoid riding Interstate 80 through Wyoming?" Always a valid question regardless of where your travels take you! I-80 is billed as the busiest Interstate Highway in the System, with about 70% of the volume being tractor/trailer traffic through Wyoming (stunning, huh?). It runs through the flatest most boring parts of Wyoming by design, following the Union Pacific Railroad mainline. BUT, there are lots of options to get off, they are just longer.

If you are coming from the Southeast and want to ride something besides I-80, get onto Hwy 210 at Cheyenne (exits off I-25 about two miles north of I-80, called Happy Jack Road), a gorgeous ride on two lane with very good and new asphalt through the High Plains and Sherman Mountains. You hit I-80 again at the Summit (highest elevation point on I-80 with a nice rest area) about ten miles East of Laramie, then ride rotomilled concrete slab to the West Laramie Exit (Hwy 130/230). Turn left/west for about a mile to the juntion of 130/230. Hang right onto 130 toward Centennial (230 loops south through some pretty country and actually connects to Hwy 130 at Encampment, south of Saratoga). It's about 24 miles from Laramie to Centennial across the Laramie Basin, fairly straight and flat but really pretty. From Centennial the highway cranks up the Snowies and through the cirques, then back down to the North Platte River Valley, a ride of about 40 miles of gorgeous twisties and excellent pavement. After crossing the Platte, you turn north to Saratoga then onward to Rawlins, Riverton or Lander, Thermopolis, Meeteetse, Cody. There's a LOT of flat, straight, hot pavement between the Snowies and Cody, but it's pretty with low traffic and some short sections of fun (Wind River Canyon!!). All the roads are in excellent condition, with lots of it only a few years old or brand new. If you don't want to come through Lander, the cutoff between the Sweetwater River (nice rest area at the junction) and Riverton is very good asphalt, called the Sand Draw Road/Hwy 135, and cuts about 30 miles off the ride.

If you are coming from the Soutwest, the Snowy Range ride is WAY out of the way. There are so many fine routes to take between Salt Lake City and Cody it's hard to choose! If you are coming from the Northeast, you simply can't miss riding the Black Hills, that's some of the prettiest country to ride through in the region. Then it's I-90 slab from Moorcroft to Buffalo or Sheridan, then over the Big Horn Mountains with stunning scenery and perfect twisties and on to Cody through the Big Horn Basin.

I'm sitting here watching a raging blizzard outside while writing this, and I'm getting all excited to fire the scooter up and get on with trying to wear it out! Only four more months of Winter! Arghhhh!!!!!

Hi Doug!

You know don't you that now that you have reveled yourself, you are just going to get bombarded with request for information and suggestions! So, not wanting to be the ones to change that...

We have been devouring you notes so far, and just finished highlighting on the map your suggested route from Cheyenne to Cody. (We will be coming from Kansas City via Denver.) What else is there to do on an icy January Sunday in the mid-west?!?

We will be going on to the national rally in Spokane after UN-III. Are you familiar with that direction also? If so what might be your suggestions for exiting Cody to the west, through a bit of Yellowstone, then on up through Montana / Idaho to avoiding sitting on I-15, I-90 bored to tears? We will be 2-up but are not afraid of the twisties.

Also, related, what would be a good halfway over night stopping point between Cody and Spokane. Motels for us! We don't do the camping thing!

We feel your enthusiasm and this trip will be the highlight of our summer! (We are going on to B.C. and Donna's folks' in Alberta from Spokane.)

Any guidance you can give is much appreciated!

Douglas,
I'm reading, and highlighting the maps, and THANK YOU!

Last time I was in Cody we stayed at the Uptown Motel. It was recommended by a friend of mine in Nashville who rides a Honda ST1100. He said that he and a few other guys stayed there one stormy night and the proprietor pulled his own car out of his garage and let them put their bikes inside out of the weather. You can’t beat that kind of recommendation! It was neat and clean even though it's not brand new. So if you like the places with 'character' instead of the chains - give them a call. (307) 587-4245

I also highly recommended the restaurant next door, Granny’s Kitchen.

Douglas,
From Cody, at the end of the "festivities", I'll have to high tail it east to get home.
On the map it looks like this: Cody to Shoshoni via Thermopolis, rt120 and 20. From there to I25/Casper on rt26. From I25 exit no.92 take 26 east until it hooks up with I80 in Ogallala/Nebraska. Is this a reasonable way to go? Or from I25 take rt20 east and hook up with I80 in Omaha. Or from rt26 in Nebraska hook up with rt2 to Grand Island. It is marked scenic in Rand McNally. How much time would I loose by avoiding I80 in Nebraska? I hate interstates with the best of you but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do .
Thanks for your help.

once into wyo. if you do take the happy jack road to laramie and time permitting. side track for a stop at veedavoo it's worth it.
if me and the missus can luck out on a room (ha) we are going to try and make it. as it's our anniversary that week.

Anyone who gets a chance may want to hit Thermopolis,Wy. for the hot springs that are there. You can either rent a bathing suit and a towel or wear the one you brought with ya but it is kind of interesting. The Holiday Inn has a huge wild game room with a bunch a stuffed stuff.
Flint

Well, I guess Ken H. said it, now that I've "revealed" myself the messages are flying! This is cool, I live in a large rural State where BMW enthusiasts are very rare (there are no dealers in the entire state, nor in Montana - I get service either in Salt Lake or Fort Collins, 300 miles one-way!!!). I did a poker run last Fall with six Japanese bikes, 75 Harleys and ONE Beemer! We rode from one bar to the next, duh! It is Wyoming, after all, we use bars as milestones out here in the Wild West. Don't need to do that again. I can't imagine 5000 Harleys in a pack, that's a recipe for disaster in my experience. I did Sturgess ONCE, that was enough! Drinking and driving is bad, but on two wheels it's just plain deadly.

Also, I totally agree, Veedauwoo is a must see! There are a number of cool hiking trails that take you into bedrock granite outcrops, a very neat area. I've spent 1000's of hours in there on my Montesa Cota trials bike, it's as fun as Moab, Utah! Pretty outstanding mountain biking too... can you put a Thule bike rack on an RT?

There were several questions about routes from different folks both East and West out of Cody for after the UnRally, so I'll respond in one posting rather than several:

From Cody to Spokane you have a thousand outstanding choices, but as always in mountainous areas you do a lot of riding around mountain chains and sometimes over them. While it's always scenic, it also means a lot of miles out of the way, and after cruising a jillion miles to get to Cody maybe your buns are tired. I hate to say this, but I-90 through western Montana and northern Idaho is actually not bad at all, pretty scenic and curvey and actually kinda fun cranking along at high speed. (It used to be even more fun before Montana had a speed limit, but it's still the nicest stretch of slab I'm aware of.) The area along I-90 at Coeur D'Alene is really pretty and actually curvaceous enough to be fun. So, I can't really recommend one route or another out of Cody to Spokane if your butt aches. If it doesn't I highly recommend going South through Yellowstone and touring through Grand Teton and Jackson Hole, one of my favorite places on this Earth. This puts you pretty far south of Spokane, but again there are a thousand gorgeous routes through western Wyoming and then up through eastern Idaho and Western Montana if you've got time. You can recreate Lewis and Clark's jouneys in part, that's pretty fun! Interstate 80 from Idaho Falls to Boise is just plain straight flat boring ugly slab, a must to avoid if at all possible! It's also really HOT there in July. From Boise north toward Spokane is very nice country. It's been a while since I did that route, so I can't offer anything current on road conditions.

I also hate to say it, but heading East from Wyoming gets pretty straight and boring too. I prefer I-90 or I-94 over doing time on I-80, much less tractor-trailer traffic. There's just no better way to cross the Great Plains States except at high speed. Further north is less traffic and (hopefully) a little cooler in mid-July.

More later, I'm sure! My lunch hour is over....

(there are no dealers in the entire state, nor in Montana - I get service either in Salt Lake or Fort Collins, 300 miles one-way!!!).

Well, there is Big Sky in Missoula, but that's 500 miles from you, through Yellowstone, so it's not as good of an option.

But on a bad day, I'll bet it can take me longer to get through Chicago traffic to my dealer 45 miles away than it takes you to go 300 miles to Salt Lake or Fort Collins!

I spent the longest year of my life in Chicago one month.... I'm a hydrogeologist (do environmental cleanups for a living) and spent a month (August!!) in South Chicago working on a NASTY Safety Kleen re-refinery in 95% humidity at 95 degrees, wearing Tyvek suits and respirators. I thought I was gonna die! We worked 12 - 14 hour days seven days a week just to get done quicker and come home! Stunning traffic. You can ride for miles out here without seeing another vehicle (or gas station, human, radio station, restaurant, motorcycle repair shop, cultural event...).

Life is just one trade-off after the other, huh?

I guess I didn't know there is a BMW dealership in Missoula, that's a long way from here but a much nicer ride! I'll look into that, thanks!

Quote:

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I-90 through western Montana and northern Idaho is actually not bad at all, pretty scenic and curvey and actually kinda fun cranking along at high speed.

---

Ok, I-90 it is! We'll probably do Cody to Spokane over two days. (Actually we're going to stay in Sandpoint, ID while at the national rally.) Where would you suggest would be a good fun place to break it in 1/2? Need to get those room reservations nailed down now you know!

Douglas, you're great for giving us these tips, I hope we don't all drive you crazy as July gets closer!

I've been to the store in missoula. Good folks and helpful when I was passing thru and needed a bit of help.

Hey Ken! It looks like it's about 700 miles from Cody to Sandpoint if you take the most direct route, and Missoula is about 400 miles out. I've never stayed in a motel in that country, so can't suggest anything. If I were on a long ride all the way from KC to Seattle, I might be interested in staying close to the only BMW dealership in the region JUST IN CASE I needed something!

The only real service problem I have out here is keeping good rubber on the bike, that missing rear axle really throws most mechanics for a loop when they try to balance your new rear tire! Our asphalt might be good, but it's also pretty rough and really eats tires, especially if you are riding two up. I gassed up in Pinedale, WY last Fall and gasped when I saw steel belts showing from my rear tire (it was that high-speed run through Hoback Canyon that finally did it in, I think!), and I was 140 miles from home. That occasioned a minor heart attack and slow ride home, then I had to haul the rear wheel to the dealer in Fort Collins over the Thanksgiving break. NO ONE in this area would even touch it..... I got 6000 miles out of the rear Dunlop D220 when the belts showed up and most of those miles were ridden single and lightly loaded.

Anyway, even though we all know your Beemer is bomb-proof mechanically, it might be nice to stop near a dealer just in case, or maybe to get a nice BMW tee shirt from Montana for your collection!

Doug, many thanks for all the excellent input.

PEOPLE! This site is for discussion of ACCOMODATIONS in and around Cody. (Take a look at the Title: ACCOMODATIONS. Get it?) It is not for discussions of routes, rides, how to get there and the Dairy Queen in Lander.

In order for people to get the information they need without wading through extraneous stuff, let's please limit entries to ACCOMODATIONS. OK?

If a Rides, etc. string is needed perhaps David could establish one. Or those discussions could be in Ride Planning.

doc47
Accomodations Czar

Latest on Blair Hotels:

After much negotiations, an arm-wrestling match (3 out of 5)(I LET her beat me ......Honest!) and the sacrifice of my first-born, they are giving us the following rates:

Holiday Inn $109 1-4 person per room

Comfort Inn $119 1-4 person per room

Buffalo Bill Village $99 one bedroom cabin
$119 two bedroom cabin

If you have already booked and were charged more call them back, identify yourself with the code BMW, and you will be given these rates.

Oooops! I'm sorry. I've never been much good at following directions....

Randy, Cathy and Ryan, we are in, reservations are made, at Ponderosa campground. Arriving 12th from TOR rally and leaving 15th heading to Spokane for National Rally.

is it necessary to make reservations at the Ponderosa Campground or is there expected to be enough space reserved for tent camping?

thanks,
hank

Hank, I've made a res. I can't imagine they wouldn't be able to shoehorn another tent in someplace, but you might have to sleep near BigMak, so I recommend a reservation.

Hank,
I just contacted Ponderosa and made reservations for tent camping. Talked to Skip, she indicated that making reservations was a very good idea. They don't take credit cards so expect to send a check for $20.
Mike

Also just reserved a spot. It is 16.00 a night, and that includeds 1 tent, and two people. If you have extra people it is 2.00 per person per night. So Myself, Cathy, Ryan and Chris are running 20.00 per night.

I just booked the Best Value Inn West for $62/night. I told her I was with the BMWOA and I think she gave me the same rate as AAA members. The owner told me they are in the process of completely renovating the motel to open on 4/1. They still have some rooms available 7/12-7/15. Outdoor pool and continental breakfast included in price.

Doug, Are there any restrictions on entering Yellowstone??
We understand they will start limiting visitors. Do we need to make reservations to enter the park ??

Thanks Bob
Houston,TX

I checked with the Park officials. There are no restrictions. Reservations are not necessary.

Come one. Come all!

Called and made a reservation at the Best Value Inn West last night. Got the last single room for $62.00 per night. They have 4 or 5 double rooms available for $76.00 per night. The lady to talk to is Jean. Her # is 307-587-4258. As mentioned this place is across the street from the Ponderosa.

Also made reservations at the Best Value Inn W.

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, i'm looking for someone who has multiple room or extra space and wants to share motel space

thanks in advance

Sorry Doc but I didn't see Ken's email anywhere so I thought I'd answer his question (Also, related, what would be a good halfway over night stopping point between Cody)here.
A good half way point from Cody (if you go slightly north east up to Laurel to get on the Interstate is Three Forks. It's approx. 250 mi from Cody and from Three Forks to Sandpoint about 280mi. They have a really nice motel called the Broken Spur. You can chk on it www.brokenspurmotel.com

Tks! We'll check it out!

Nancy and I made reservations for the 12 & 13th at the Best value Inn west.
See ya all there
Lance

what's the latest word on accomodation locations with reasonable prices? as much as i like camping, id rather just get a reasonable room and even be willing to share is some else had space????

c.l.

Yahooo. just ooked at the Ponderosa camp ground, and if they are correct i got the last camping cabin... so i will see youall there

santa on a blue sleigh...

I'm sad to report that I will not be able to make the Unrally in my back yard this year. We've had a death in the family and the memorial service/family reunion will be held the 11th a long way from Cody. The only consolation is that it will be in Gunnison, CO where there are a zillion miles of outstanding roads! I will try and stop in at Paonia on the way down, that should be fun.

Anyway, I have reservations at a small Cody motel for the 12th, 13th and 14th and will no longer need them. Rather than just cancel them and toss the room to the winds, I thought I'd see if anyone on this forum would like the room. It's at the Rainbow Park Motel, a small Mom & Pop locally-owned place, kinda the other end of Cody from the Unrally HQ (all of a mile away) but close to downtown (three blocks from the Irma, etc.) I have reserved a one-queen, nonsmoking room and if you want it please PM me.

Thanks!

It is now 100% that I will be able to attend.
I am looking for someone who wants to share a room in Cody. I will be arriving on July 11 and departing on July 14. I will probably be bookin at the Irma or Holiday Inn if no one responds.

Chris, check your PMs

Mark

The room I offerred up has been taken by Al (ke30k), so there's another person who will definitely be at the rally!

Thanks all, travel safely.

Doug

Anybody know where there might be a reasonable room at this late date starting Monday night?

Anybody got a room to share for this one night?

I booked a room at the Burl. Still hoping for a Ponderosa camping cabin cancellation.

I got a room at the Irma, please disregard other post.
Thanks