Spa to Spa Ride

June 18-21, 2025

The History

In the early 1994 my family started this loop ride with my sisters, brothers, mother, in-laws and our young children. We enjoyed it so much it was worth bringing it to my Cinnicrew skiing friends.

The Route…

Big Hole River valley, Lost Trail hot springs and the Pioneer Scenic Byway. Located in the far southwest part of Montana. The area is big sagebrush, huge endless ranches, black cows, pine forests, rivers and creeks, lingering snow capped mountains, big sky views and only a couple of very small towns. It’s an area where cows far outnumber people.

We ride this route during the Summer Solstice. There’s still a bit of snow in the mountains, the rivers and creeks have plenty of water, the grass is green, the wildflowers are in bloom and the air is clear with no wildfires (hopefully). It’s Montana special!

It’s been a few years since the O.G. (original guard) Cinnicrew has all done this ride. Some of the crew has annually been riding this area for some 15 years (plus or minus). The trip started as 3 days with a hot springs at the end of everyday. At one point Jackson closed their establishment and the group ventured over the continental divide to Lost Trail in the Bitterroot River valley. When Jackson reopened an extra day was added to include Lost Trail. For many years the 3 hot springs stops were Lost Trail, Jackson and Elkhorn. Each spring very different from the other.

The first couple of years it was just the OG Cinnicrew but quickly friends and family were joining the tour. Some years there were 30! All ages and various bicycle road riding experience. It began as a simple affair… one support vehicle to carry gear and a few bikes and everyone rode a bicycle and took a turn driving. We either tent camped or stayed in available cabins or lodge. Typically we have a group breakfast made with our camping gear, group lunch and then restaurants for dinners. But always a place to soak at the end of the ride!

This year we are 20 in total. The oldest is 85 and the youngest are teenagers. A couple of 20-30 yr olds and the remainder of us are much more mature. Mature to the point where we have only 1 tent and 6 camper vehicles! Comfort over simplicity! It’s now referred to as “the caravan”. Where we all used to ride many miles, it’s now a mid ride trade of riders and drivers. The other big change in the last 5 years is the transition to e-bikes. On this trip it’s about 50/50. More stats on that later.