Targhee Pass by Bicycle - Velo

Nearby Raynold's Pass was first named "Low Pass". There are a number of passes on the southern part of the Idaho Montana border that deserve this name, but maybe none more so than Targhee Pass. The road carries heavy tourist traffic to Yellowstone Park. It has a good shoulder on the Idaho side, but the shoulder is rumble stripped in a very disagreeable manner on the Montana side (not quite as bad on the Idaho side), making this a potentially dangerous route for bicycles during Yellowstone travel season.

1.(2030m~6660ft, 0km~0mi) START-END WEST: jct US20 - Mo87, north of Island Park, south of Henry's Lake
2.(2156m~7072ft, 6.4km~4.0mi) TOP: Targhee Pass
3.(2033m~6670ft, 9.8km~6.1mi) Denny Creek Road diverts on left
4.(2008m~6588ft, 12.0km~7.5mi) low point
5.(2033m~6670ft, 21.4km~13.3mi) START-END EAST: West Yellowstone, US20 turns north

From North. It's a quick 200ft ride to the top. As the short ascent begins Targhee Peak at 10180ft enters the picture for a few hundred yards. There are no pass or elevation signs at the top, but the name shows up on practically all state maps.

From South. The shoulder disappears and the heavy traffic remains as the road aims in a utilitarian straight route to the town of West Yellowstone.

Targhee Pass , Raynolds Pass: near jct Targhee Trail forest road - US20 > Targhee Pass > West Yellowstone with 5 to 10 miles of sightseeing detours > US287 north and west > Hebgen Dam > Raynolds Pass > back to starting point: 75 miles with 2500ft of climbing in 5:3 hours.
Notes: the only unpaved part is the approach to the loop from the forest road

same summit points: ~1.4miles up Teepee Creek Rd from jct US191 - Teepee Creek Rd > down Teepee Creek Rd > US191 south > US287 west > Mo87 south > Raynolds Pass > US20 east > Targee Pass > West Yellowstone > US191 north > back to starting point on Teepee Creek Rd : 69.7miles with 3010ft of climbing in 5:23hrs (garmin etrex30 r4:20.8.28)
Notes: same loop as before,but with a little longer approach to the loop. The only really nice part of this loop is the stretch along Hebgen Lake. Both passes are rumble strip terror. No wonder you see so few road cyclists in Montana. Ridrable roads are hard to find in this part of the state.

The fur trade. The Indian trail that ran over this pass from Snake River country to the Gallatin Valley became known to trappers with the discovery of nearby Raynold's Pass by Andrew Henry in 1810. When they referred to crossing North Pass it could mean either going across Targhee or Raynold's Pass.

Exploration by military and surveyors. The ambiguous designation of "North Pass" is a good example of why more formal methods of exploration were needed. These formal methods came in the name of Ferdinand Hayden and the comprehensive Hayden Survey. In 1872 he mapped the Yellowstone area in great detail, including the North Pass region which still retained this name. Hayden applied the name Targhee Pass to this crossing, after Chief Targhee of the Banocks who died in the early 1870. Hayden's surveyors recommended the pass for a railroad from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone Park. However the rail connection to Yellowstone that would become reality lead over nearby Reas Pass.

Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce. The government had designated a forever-homeland for the Nez Perce Indians in Wallowa Valley, eastern Oregon in 1855. However, forever is a strong term, and sometimes (or maybe always) forever doesn't mean forever. When Chief Joseph refused to move his band into Idaho the government responded with force in 1877. The resulting flight and ensuing battles moved across today's Montana into Yellowstone. Today numerous road signs in the area remind of the flight of 700 people. Amongst the areas crossed is also Targhee Pass. After the battle at today's Big Hole Battlefield the band crossed Medicine Lodge Pass and then approached Targhee Pass via Centennial Valley. Their route continued into Yellowstone Park heading towards today's Dead Indian Pass.