Minneapolis to Portland

[JQmpls]

Myself and two other bikers are in the preliminary stages of planning a
trip from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Portland, Oregon in the beginning
of May. We have not planned our route yet so any advice from others
who know a good path would be greatly appreciated. We have made a
guess on how long this trip will take, but I will certainly trust those
with experience over my own estimations.

 Also, I had heard that there is a resource somewhere on the web
where bikers can find people willing to house them/use their yards for
a night along the way. If anyone has helpful information about this
resource or any other tips for camping along the way, I am nothing but
ears.

Thanks & safe travels,
Jake

[CMajernik]

The website you're looking for is called Warm Showers. Here is the link: http://www.warmshowers.org/

 

[staehpj1]

Also maybe try couchsurfing.com.  If you are using Adventure Cycling maps you can probably find plenty of free camping places on the maps.  I know that was the case on the Trans America.  I have not ridden the Northern Tier, but imagine it is similar.  I know that we managed to stay for free better than half the time and for cheap a lot of the remaining time.  We did that without using warmshowers.com or couchsurfing.com.  

[freightbike]

 I recently biked from St. Paul to Medora ND. Consider staying your first night in Dalbo, up near Cambridge MN. I took a different way out of the cities. I went through St. Cloud and took the Lake Woebegone and Lakes area trails system to Fergus Falls. I've transited ND twice on Hwy 200 to Garrison. Camping in most small town parks in north dakota is free to cyclists. The ACA maps are a good place to start but don't be afraid to venture out on you're own. People are more interested and impressed in you if they don't see bikes day after day.

May the wind at your back always smell like home.
                  MORG