What To Know
Canada – 257 miles – 0 Breweries The route in Canada travels through 257 miles from Banff to the Canada/US border at Roosville. The Canada section of the route is very remote but incredibly beautiful. And while there are no hoppy options in Canada once leaving Banff, it is an amazing 257 miles, and a great way to start the trip. The route makes its way through the small towns of Elkford and Sparwood before reaching Roosville and the United States. The stunning scenery in Canada can make paying attention to the trail a challenge. Some highlights include the Spray Lake area and the many remote mountain passes as you pass deep through the British Columbia Rockies. Eventually, a blazing gravel descent dumps you out onto paved HWY 93 just a few miles from the US. Montana – 726 miles – 5 Breweries Perhaps shockingly, the ‘Brewery Edition’ of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route did not start out as the ‘Brewery Edition.’ 22 miles into Montana, just outside the town of Eureka, we saw a sign for a brewery. Being quite the craft brew fan, I convinced my recently met riding buddies, Brant and Reid, that we should stop. Inside Homestead Ales brewery we picked up a magazine that listed and mapped breweries in every state along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. A couple days later, the objective to try out as many of the breweries en route as possible was set. The Montana section of the route is overall fairly remote, but does pass through more and larger towns (although still relatively small) than Canada. The larger towns include Whitefish/Columbia Falls, Helena, and Butte, all of which had at least one brewery! The route leaving Helena was some of my favorite of the entire route, as it had much more of a singletrack feel through beautiful forest. Another highlight of Montana were the neat small towns we passed through: Eureka, which had a great grocery store and a cool brewery; Ovando, the town of 70 that loves the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and made me feel like some kind of hero; and Lakeview, a very remote town of about 14. The biggest challenge in Montana was the tough weather. And while the weather is certainly an unpredictable factor and every year is likely to be different, the weather in Montana in 2014 was highly variable. There were gorgeous warm sunny days, many days with very cold rainy periods, and days with both. Many of the passes in Montana were still covered in snow from the snowy winter. Sometimes the snow was avoidable or rideable, often it involved a short hike-a-bike, and once required a 4+ mile slog through the snow. And while the three coldest and wettest days of the entire trip happened in Montana, the Montana experience was amazing.Homestead Ale Brewing | Tasting Room | 2525 Grave Creek Rd Eureka, Montana 59917 | Th-Sun: 3pm-9pm |
The Great Northern Brewing Company | Tasting Room | 2 Central Avenue, Whitefish, Montana 59937 | Mon-Sun: 11:00am-11:00pm |
Lewis & Clark Brewing Company | Tasting Room | 1517 Dodge Ave. Helena, MT 59601 | Sun-Wed: 2:00pm–10:00pm Th–Sat 11:00pm |
Blackfoot River Brewing | Tasting Room | 66 South Park Ave, Helena, MT | Open 2-8pm daily |
Quarry Brewing | Tasting Room | 124 W. Broadway Butte, MT 59701 | Mon-Fri: 3:00pm-8:00pm Sat: 1:00pm-8:00pm Sun: 1:00pm-6:00pm |
Snake River Brewing | Tasting Room and Restaurant | 265 S Millward St, Jackson, Wyoming 83001 | Mon-Sun: 11:00am-11:00pm |
Wind River Brewing | Tasting Room and Restaurant | 402 W Pine St, Pinedale, WY 82941 | Sun-Thur: 11am – 11pm Fri & Sat: 11am – 12am |
Tasting room and Restaurant | 1744 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487 | MON – THUR: 2pm-8pm FRI & SAT: 12pm-10pm SUN: 12pm-8pm | |
Dillion Dam Brewery | Tasting room and Restaurant | 100 Little Dam St, Dillon, CO 80435 | Sun -Thu: 11:30am – 12:00am Fri – Sat: 11:30am – 12:00am |
Pug Ryan’s | Tasting room and Restaurant | 104 Village Pl, Dillon, CO 80435 | Mon – Fri: 2:00pm – 11:00pm Sat: 11:30am – 11:00pm Sun: 11:00am – 11:00pm |
Backcountry Brewery | Tasting room and Restaurant | 68 Continental Ct, Breckenridge, CO 80424 | Sun – Thur: 11:00am – 10:00pm Fri – Sat: 11:00am – 11:00pm |
Tasting Room and BYO food | 68 Continental Ct, Breckenridge, CO 80424 | Mon – Sun: 11:30am – 11:00pm | |
Breckenridge Brewery | Tasting room and Restaurant | 600 S Main St, Breckenridge, CO 80424 | Mon – Sun: 11:00am – 12:00am |
Amicas | Tasting room and Restaurant | 136 E 2nd St, Salida, CO 81201 | Mon – Sun: 11:30am – 9:00pm |
Moonlight Pizza & Brew Pub | Tasting room and Restaurant |
242 F St, Salida, CO 81201 |
Mon-Sat: 11:00am – 9:00pm Sun: 11:00am – 8:00pm |
Elevation Brewing | Tasting Room | 115 Pahlone Pkwy, Poncha Springs, CO | Mon – Sun: 12:00pm – 8:00pm |
Three Barrel Brewing | Tasting Room and Restaurant | 475 Grand Ave, Del Norte, CO 81132 | Mon – Sat: 11:00am – 9:00pm Sun: 3:00pm – 9:00pm |
Little Toad Creek Brewery | Tasting Room and Restaurant | 200 N Bullard St, Silver City, NM 88061 | 7 Days: 11am-11pm |
Resources: American Cycling Association Maps
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