A quick two week trip to Vegas for a friends birthday and taking in some Cali riding has turned into me quitting my job in two weeks and taking 4-6 weeks to tour as much of the Western U.S. as I can before I have to come back down to reality. Time for a change! I'll post up a picture of a very rough route, I'll be heading out mid-September and would like to be back for a local rally here in Texas the last week of October. This trip will be on my GSA, I love getting out away from the cagers so any offroad routes or POI are very welcomed but this will be a solo trip so if you send me off on some Class IV goat path with decreasing radius, negative camber switchbacks composed of baby heads and 2 foot deep sand...I will hunt you down and publicly humiliate you at the nearest Starbuck's I'll be camping as much as I can, these are gorgeous states I'm riding through so I'd like to see as many natural attractions as I can. Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Valley of the Gods, Antelope Valley, Yosemite, Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Glacier NP, Lost Coast, Big Sur, Joshua Tree. These are places I know I will be visiting and give you an idea of what I'm after. Let me know if there is something in your area, or something you know about along this route I should check out (or avoid.) Thanks in advance, this will be my first truly long distance ride and I could not be more excited. See ya on the road gents
Great trip Tex. Perfect time of the year. I'll be leaving Vegas next Tuesday and should be in Yellowstone by Thursday or Friday, then north and west and back down the coast. Have a great trip.
Use 20 to cross Washington instead of 90. Get off 5 and go see the coast in Washington/Oregon/NorCal. Both will provide better riding and camping options. Charlie
You're the map guru, you tell me!!! This is basically just a map showing where I will be travelling and the waypoints I want to hit, what I'm looking for is interesting roads in between. I dont really have a timetable for this trip so I dont expect to do any Interstate unless I have too. I've got your southern and northern cali Maps that I'll use when I'm out there, loved the one you put together for the Hill country. Thanks!
If you don't know UT, you're missing tons! I would move the left side of your map to the right if I was planning this for you.
What do you mean? I'm open to suggestions if you have them. I have friends in So Cal (where I used to live) so the return trip will need to come down the West coast.
You may need to alter your route near Yosemite, depending on how the fire goes. Currently, You can't access Yosemite from the east side, because Hwy 120 is blocked by fire fighting efforts. Hopefully, that will be done by the time you get here. Worst case, you can cross the Sierra further north over Hwy 108 or Hwy 4. Both of those are worth seeing anyway, and would just add a few hours. If you have trouble finding a place to stay in Yosemite, there is a nice Hostel just outside the park on Hwy 140 called Yosemite Bug. In that area, Sonora has the best selection of restaurants and a good beer pub called The Standard Pour. On the way back down through CA, there are a bunch of cool things north of San Francisco. The Sonoma Valley, mostly known for wine, also has some great micro breweries. Lagunitas is my favorite because it has a cheap motel 2 doors down. If you like raw oysters, Pt. Reyes has them. Drakes Bay Oyster Co. is the best one. For lodging near/in San Francisco, check out the Hostels. Some are in old military barracks, lighthouses, and hotels. Only the downtown hostels are bad, because you have to park a few blocks away in a valet parking garage, then walk back through a bad neighborhood. I like the Fort Mason site, within walking distance of Beer 39. If you can hit Hwy 1 through Big Sur on a weekday, it will cut down on the motorhome traffic everyone complains about. On the south end of Hwy 1, check out the Motorcycle Museum in Solvang. Great comments on the placards, beyond the usual dry specs. There are also a couple of good breweries in the San Diego area. Stone Brewing Company is really impressive. For chain restaurants, Black Bear Diner and The Yard House are always good bets.
I'd rather take a whippin' than ride IH-20/10 westward... Here's an alternate route to Grand Canyon... it includes an appreciation of the Great Plains, the caldera near Los Alamos, Moki Dugway, Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley. http://goo.gl/maps/TBhB4 Here's an alternative return route... http://goo.gl/maps/M9EoF NFE
Much better!!!! Those are the routes I will use, I wanted to hit Roswell on the way back and Los Alamos. This is perfect. Thanks NFE!!
I would think it would be starting to get a touch cool at night up in the Idaho/Montana area. And I-84 through southern Idaho is a dull stretch of road,... A lot of nice riding in Idaho, but I-84 is not it.
Hey Tex 76 - If you want to see Valley of the Gods etc, you gotta' get into southern Utah. Join AAA and get a copy of their map called Indian Country. That's all you'll need from Albuquerque to Las Vegas. 1. When you get into NM on I-40, find hwy 84 and head north to Las Vegas NM. Then find 518 and take it to Taos, NM. You'll be crossing the front range and dropping down to Taos at 7000'. 2. From Taos take hwy 64 north and west to Chama NM. This is all high country. 3. Continue on hwy 64 west to Shiprock. You will be crossing two ranges that are part of the southern rockies. You see vast cattle ranches at 900'! 4. Go south from Shiprock a few miles to the actual rock. Turn west on Indian Service route 13. This is a spectaular pass that rivals the Tail of the Dragon. At its end turn south on Indian rt 12. Then west on Indian 64. This will put you at Canyon de Chelly! Spectacular rinding and all paved. 5. Fron Chinl tale 191 north to Many Farms. Turn west onto Indian rt 59 and take that to 160 and Keyenta. 6. In Kayenta find 163 north to Mexican Hat. You will pass through Monument Valley. Take a loop (soft dirt). Have a steak at the Swingin' Steak BBQ patio. 7. In Mexican Hat find 261 north. Ride it to the base of the Plateau. On your right is Valley of the Gods. Take a tour. Soft dirt. 8. Continue north on 261. You'll climb right up the face of that plateau on the Mokee Dugway. Maybe 1000 feet up! 9. Continue north on 261 to find hwy 95. Take it west to find 276. Now you'll have to make a choice. 276 to Halls Crossing (a ferry to Bull Frog Landing). or 95 North to Hanksville. More later.
Before you decide you should make sure of the ferry schedule at Halls Crossing over Lake Powell to Bullfrog Landing. I like the crossing because on the other side is a dirt road called the Burr Trail that crosses a pass into Boulder UT. If you take 95 to Hanksville you will miss the Burr Trail, but then you ride through Capitol Reef NM on hwy 24. Either way you end up on one of the best paved roads there is, Hwy 12. 1. Once you are on Hwy 12, take it west to Cannonville UT. Maybe camp there at the KOA or find a motel. Bryce Canyon NM is a couple miles away. Youll prolly want to drive through it. 2. From Cannonville find a dirt road called Kodachrome Way. It turns into Cottonwood Canyon Rd. This dirt road extends some 35 miles south to hwy 89. Spectaular road! 3. Take 89 west for a few miles and find House Rock Road. It is just past a bridge. House Rock heads south some 35 miles (dirt) to 89A. 4. Take 89a west. More later.
Maybe I shouldnt have put up that map, Its not a representation of the roads I want to ride, just the waypoints I would like to see. The route is fluid so any suggestions get worked into the actual riding plan. I wont be on major Interstates unless I have to.
Dude!!! Thanks! This is great, I'll be mapping it out tonight but even the desciption of the roads sounds amazing. Never done a ferry crossing so I'll put that on the list, especially if theres a nice dirt road waiting for me on the other side. A quick look at Kodachrome/Cottonwood Canyon on the topo map looks outstanding. Looking forward to the next installment!!
Here is a teaser. I'll give you more route tomorrow. There is about 140 miles of spectacular dirt left in my little tour. All of it in one last leg before Vegas. It will camp you on a remote point of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Heck, you won't even need much camp gear, since the Cowboys never had it. Just a bedroll and a way to make a coffee. Shiprock: Monument Valley Loop: Mokee Dugway: North Rim camp at Toroweap Point (dry camp): Off too see the Red Sox at Fenway now. Life is good. Will post the rest tomorrow -P
Define cool. It has cooled a bit. 89 yesterday, 85 ish today. Predicted 51 tonight. You can ride the low levels of ID - west MT well into Oct. Usually first snow around Halloween. It's freezing at night and moisture starts falling out of the sky. I did a week thru north and south ID, in Nov, a few yrs ago. It sounds like a cold run, but it was quite the opposite. Usually 50 plus by 10am, and I could ride till dark without problems. Got home just before Thanksgiving. 4 inches of snow overnight, whew, just made it. High country snow by late Sept, but it will still likely melt off. Don't even worry about snow. Early snow is usually a freak storm from the north. Yellowstone is colder than ID (where there are roads) and far west MT (where any volume of people live) Yadda Yadda. Missoula, Lewiston, Spokane, Boise are all temperate places. Spring is just the opposite. Cold and wet till mid to late June. A couple of route suggestions. From Zion head north and catch Vegas on the way south. You are covering a lot of boring territory twice. Zion to Cedar City. NW thru Minersville to Great Basin Nat Park. West on 50 to Eureka North to Mountain Home ID Either Boise to Stanley or Sun Valley to Stanley. East to Challis South to Arco and Craters of the Moon then east to west gate of Yellowstone or East to Salmon and South to Tendoy, east over Lemhi Pass to Dillon, I-15 south then east to west gate, or north on 15 and wander over to the north gate of Yellowstone. If you come out of the west side of Glacier. keep to the west of hwy 93. Aim for Lake Kookanusa, Plains or St Regis. Many good routes west. I-90 is scenic and fast. South out of St Regis thru Avery to St Maries and Plummer ID is a fantastic winding to twisty scenic rural paved road. 10 mi of gravel on the MT side. Missoula west on 12 is winding and very scenic. You can go all the way to I-5 in WA on this one. Hwy 20 across north WA is good. From Glacier head toward Hope All good roads thru here. Thompson Falls to Murray ID. Nice road. Spragpole for lunch. then south to Wallace. another great town. Stay off all the Interstates except where I noted. Avoid 93 in MT when possible (a population corridor) CdA to Spokane and north to Deer Park and Sandpoint is large population center and slow to navigate Everything is good. Exiting Cascades Park, you can work your way south to Monroe and head east over Stevens Pass to the Interior. Nice road. the west end is busy for a couple villages at rush hour. I avoid the I-5 corridor from North of Seattle to south of Portland. Very busy, heavy traffic. Rated 4th worst in the nation. You could catch a ferry to the Peninsula and go around Olympic Nat Park. Come out south of Olympia near Tenino/Centralia. Aim east on hwy 12 to Yakima/ Sunnydale. South and then west on 14, WA side of Columbia River. Cross the river at Bridge of the Gods and back east to Hood River. Excellent Geology views of the Gorge. Multanomah Falls. South out of Hood river and back and forth across the OR Cascades is the best way to view them. Good desert riding in the Fossil beds area (Fossil, Spray,Mitchel OR) Cascade Lakes Road. Enter near Bend. Weaves west and south thru the mountains. Comes out near the north end of Crater Lake. I have more but others are better than me this far south. I do know Mt Lassen Nat Park to Red Bluff and 36 west to the Lost Coast is a must see. Outstanding Road. Super twisty. Outstanding Scenery. Same for Ebbets Pass and Tioga Pass at Yosemite. A lot of people reccomend the coast route. I am not one of them. Too many people, amateur sport bikers, macho Vette pilots, rubber necking Winnebaggo drivers. A good place to have an accident. Lost Coast is empty and beautiful. Olympic Peninsula is lightly populated. Some views around the Redwood Nat Park. Near Klamath river there is a dirt road to the west that skirts the coast. One lane in places. Good trip to ya.
Looks like great riding, perfect offroad for a solo trip. I'll be camping most of this trip, got a few good books I've been meaning to read. Don't worry about the cold TheTourist, I have all the necessary "padding" to stay plenty warm. Being from Texas I prefer to ride in the colder temps. I will soak it all up and try to remember what it feels like next August back here in Texas
