Great Divide: bikepacking from Banff to the Mexican border

Stage routesUnited States

Great Divide: bikepacking from Banff to the Mexican border

4,400 km and 61,000 metres of climbing on Rocky Mountain dirt. Two months of real self-sufficiency.

Bikepacking · Self-supported · 4,400 km · 6 stages · 2 min read

What the Great Divide is like

It is the benchmark bikepacking route: from Banff in Canada to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, on Rocky Mountain forest roads, over passes above 3,000 metres and through towns more than a hundred kilometres apart.

You do not plan it by pretty stages but by water and food: every section is measured in litres to carry and days between shops, especially across Wyoming's Great Basin.

Key facts

TypeBikepacking
Distance4,400 km
Total climbing61,000 m
Start and finishBanff → Antelope Wells
By bike55 days, 80 km a day on average
When to goMid-June to mid-September. Earlier means snow on the Colorado passes; later means storms and cold in Montana.
Pick your stages

From where to where?

The whole route is 6 stages. Pick where you start and finish: always in a stage town.

Usual: 55 days.

KEAGO MAP
ⓘ© MapTiler · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Route profile4,400 km · 6 stages
0 m1,250 m2,500 m123456

Altitude of each stage town; each stage's climbing is in its details.

24 days, 4,399.9 km and 61,000 m of climbing: about 183.3 km a day and 23 nights on the way.

From Banff to Antelope Wells there are 24 stages; to stretch it to 55 days add rest days when you build the plan.

  1. Banff → Elkford≈ 148 kmEat: Grocery in Fernie
  2. Elkford → Fernie≈ 148 km
  3. Fernie → Eureka≈ 148 km
  4. Eureka → Whitefish≈ 148 km
  5. Whitefish → Ovando≈ 155 kmEat: Seeley Lake
  6. Ovando → Lincoln≈ 155 km
  7. Lincoln → wild camping≈ 155 km
  8. wild camping → Helena≈ 155 km
  9. Helena → Butte≈ 225 kmEat: Yellowstone: resupply at Colter Bay
  10. Butte → Lima≈ 225 km
  11. Lima → Flagg Ranch≈ 225 km
  12. Flagg Ranch → Pinedale≈ 225 km
  13. Pinedale → Atlantic City≈ 175 kmEat: Great Divide Basin: 200 km with no reliable water
  14. Atlantic City → Rawlins≈ 175 km
  15. Rawlins → Slater≈ 175 km
  16. Slater → Steamboat Springs≈ 175 km
  17. Steamboat Springs → Silverthorne≈ 213 kmEat: Breckenridge
  18. Silverthorne → Salida≈ 213 km
  19. Salida → Del Norte≈ 213 km
  20. Del Norte → Abiquiu≈ 190 kmEat: Last real resupply in Hachita: 70 km to the border
  21. Abiquiu → Cuba≈ 190 km
  22. Cuba → Silver City≈ 190 km
  23. Silver City → Hachita≈ 190 km
  24. Hachita → Antelope Wells≈ 190 km

Create your account and build Banff to Antelope Wells in 24 days.

It is free and takes a minute.

  • Save the plan and pick up where you left off
  • Carry it on your phone, map and times included
  • Send it to your group with one link
  • Download the itinerary and the calendar
Create my accountI already have an account

How to plan it

The whole route is about 4,400 km: some seventy days at touring pace or forty fast. From Europe the easiest option is a one-week section, such as Colorado from Steamboat Springs to Salida.

Ride it from mid-June to mid-September. Antelope Wells has no services, so book the shuttle out in advance; there are days without signal, and in Canada and Montana you carry bear spray.

Stages

  1. Banff → Whitefish590 km · +8,000 m · 7 days (days 1 to 7)Sleep: Elkford, Fernie, Eureka · Eat: Grocery in Fernie; 120 km stretches with nothing · Glacier National Park nearby
  2. Whitefish → Helena620 km · +8,500 m · 8 days (days 8 to 15)Sleep: Ovando, Lincoln, wild camping · Eat: Seeley Lake, Ovando · State capitol and Missouri gorge
  3. Helena → Pinedale900 km · +12,000 m · 11 days (days 16 to 26)Sleep: Butte, Lima, Flagg Ranch · Eat: Yellowstone: resupply at Colter Bay · Wind River Range on the horizon
  4. Pinedale → Steamboat Springs700 km · +9,000 m · 9 days (days 27 to 35)Sleep: Atlantic City, Rawlins, Slater · Eat: Great Divide Basin: 200 km with no reliable water · Hot springs and the Yampa valley
  5. Steamboat Springs → Del Norte640 km · +12,000 m · 8 days (days 36 to 43)Sleep: Silverthorne, Salida, Del Norte · Eat: Breckenridge, Salida · Rio Grande canyon
  6. Del Norte → Antelope Wells950 km · +11,500 m · 12 days (days 44 to 55)Sleep: Abiquiu, Cuba, Silver City, Hachita · Eat: Last real resupply in Hachita: 70 km to the border · The finish line, in the middle of nowhere

Multi-day sections as guidebooks give them. Approximate distance and climbing: every GPX varies a little.

Frequently asked questions

How long is Great Divide: bikepacking from Banff to the Mexican border?4,400 km in total, with around 61,000 m of climbing.
How many days does it take?55 days by bike (80 km average per stage).
Where do people usually sleep?The usual overnight points are Elkford, Fernie, Eureka, Ovando, Lincoln, wild camping, Butte, Lima, Flagg Ranch, Atlantic City, Rawlins, Slater. The stage table lists them section by section.
Where does Great Divide: bikepacking from Banff to the Mexican border start and end?It starts in Banff and ends in Antelope Wells. You can start or finish at any stage end.
When is the best time to go?Mid-June to mid-September. Earlier means snow on the Colorado passes; later means storms and cold in Montana.

In Keago this route becomes a plan: one card per stage with time and duration, the daily track, each night's accommodation with link and location, the meals, and both travel tickets where the whole group can see them. Everyone confirms and you know who is missing.

Create your account and keep building your Great Divide: bikepacking from Banff to the Mexican border plan.

It is free and takes a minute.

  • Save the plan and pick up where you left off
  • Carry it on your phone, map and times included
  • Send it to your group with one link
  • Download the itinerary and the calendar
Create my accountI already have an account