My top four tour routes

[Dragonrider]

Please note that these are only a portion of the total route - you have to get there!! They are all listed as I rated them:

1. Jasper, AB to Lake Louise, AB (or reverse) - plan on spending time in Jasper too, the side roads offer unbelievable scenery.
2. Cody, WY to Cooke City, MT - continuing one enters Yellowstone Park. This is a great motorcycle road, and plan to spend a little time exploring Cooke City..
3. Missoula, MT to Lewiston, ID - terrific motorcycle road, scenery, great fishing, and fun places to stop, if interested.

My last one is a sleeper, and covers a lot of high desert, but the roads are incredible:

4. Klamath Falls, OR to Frenchglen, OR - via Denio, NV. Plan on a meal at Frenchglen. Given the right time of day/year, there are wild burros and horses on the road.

None of these routes will fail to enter your "top routes" list. That said, my riding group prefers to ride in lonely areas, where you may not see another vehicle all day, or very few, anyway. Watch your gas (even my V-rod made it between stops though), and stop when you see it. We have been on all of these several times, and at least once, have not encountered another vehicle all day. This is my heaven, and one of the reasons I don't go East…...

Enjoy the road

 

[flamingobabe]

I've done #1...# 2 sorta...been to Cooke City...from Yellowstone...via Bear tooth Pass...spent the night...a cool little town...then on to Cody and across USA to Lamont BBQ...#3...Missoula to Bosie to visit grandson at school...still beautiful ...haven't done #4...gives something to shoot for...we have anther wedding in Washinton in July...sounds like a side trip....thanks

 

[asp125]

1. Colorado 141 from Whitewater to Naturita, turn around and do it again.. and again. - http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/unaweep_canyon.htm
2. Skyline Drive and side canyons between Santa Cruz and San Fran. - http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/1313/California/Ben-Lomond-to-Alices.html
3. Mt Palomar, CA Sportbiker heaven (on weekdays) - http://www.motorcycleroads.com/75/111/California/The-Palomar-Mountain-Loop.html
4. High Plains Raceway, Byers CO. What can I say, drop a knee and crank it. - http://www.highplainsraceway.com/images/track-map-large4.gif

 

[liketoride2]

Please note that these are only a portion of the total route - you have to get there!! They are all listed as I rated them:

1. Jasper, AB to Lake Louise, AB (or reverse) - plan on spending time in Jasper too, the side roads offer unbelievable scenery.
2. Cody, WY to Cooke City, MT - continuing one enters Yellowstone Park. This is a great motorcycle road, and plan to spend a little time exploring Cooke City..
3. Missoula, MT to Lewiston, ID - terrific motorcycle road, scenery, great fishing, and fun places to stop, if interested.

My last one is a sleeper, and covers a lot of high desert, but the roads are incredible:

4. Klamath Falls, OR to Frenchglen, OR - via Denio, NV. Plan on a meal at Frenchglen. Given the right time of day/year, there are wild burros and horses on the road.

None of these routes will fail to enter your "top routes" list. That said, my riding group prefers to ride in lonely areas, where you may not see another vehicle all day, or very few, anyway. Watch your gas (even my V-rod made it between stops though), and stop when you see it. We have been on all of these several times, and at least once, have not encountered another vehicle all day. This is my heaven, and one of the reasons I don't go East…...

Enjoy the road

Being an old fart who has roamed the roads of the American west for over 40 years, I have been fortunate to have ridden all four. The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jaspar is also #1 on my list, the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. When I rode around the world I saw nothing to compare.

Other favorites that immediately come to mind are (not in any particular order):
1. The Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier NP.
2. Highway 1 in California, the coast highway,from North of Santa Barbara to where it turns inland in extreme northern Ca.
3. Highway 12 in Utah.
4. The Delores River canyon in Colorado.
5. From Cortez Colorado to near Grand Junction, via Telluride (this one fits well with #4).
6. Ferry hopping in the San Juan Islands, Washington State. Not much interesting riding here (45 mph speed limits on the islands) but a very beautiful place, and there are interesting routes to get there such as Highway 20 across the north Cascades.

The tourist traffic can be heavy in summer on numbers 1, 2, and 6, but can be largely avoided by going in the spring or after Labor Day. The best weather in coastal California is in September and October.

A great post Dragonrider, thanks for sharing with us.

Mike
Idaho
www.rtwrider.net

 

[Dragonrider]

I've been trying to get forum members to list "favorite rides" for over a year. Maybe this time it will click… remember, the touring season is just around the corner.

 

[ARtraveler]

Here are some of my favorites:

The 20 mile or so road that goes through Badlands Nationl Park in South Dakota.

The upper and lower geyser basins roads in Yellowstone Park.

The ride from Rapid City to Devils Tower Wyoming

The ride through Zion Park and as mentioned earlier, Hwy 12 in Utah.

I could go on and on but they said four. We are so fortunate to live in this beautiful country. No matter where I have ridden, I can always find something that is worth seeing.

 

[Recluze]

Thanks for the tips, DragonRider. I am going to get up there and do those next summer.
Mine:
1) Hwy 1 from San Diego to Port Angeles, Wa. or any part thereof. If you don't like this, you don't like riding
2) hwy 4 From Arnold, Ca to Nevada. deserted Road, lots of turns, beautiful scenery.
3) Hwy 4 all of it. Lots of gold mining towns to stop and visit.
4) The next one.

 

[Dragonrider]

Here's a pic from #4 - if you look, you can see that the road turns 90 degrees, then climbs 2500 feet up the face of that cliff…..

 

[JJW SpyderRider]

Most of my routes are local in the N. Illinois and S. Wisconsin area. Not mush to be seen :gaah:. But alls good as long as I'm on my Spyder :thumbup:.

I did add a new route today via car but will have to add it to my bucket list. Blue Ridge Packway from Asheville, NC to Maggie Valley :2thumbs:.

I'm working in Asheville and had the day off so took a ride on the Parkway, what a great drive! Scenic overlooks every mile. Here are a few cell phone pics along the way.

 

[Dragonrider]

Come on - it's winter. Think about your best rides and list them - gives the rest of us something to add to next year's trips…. I know CAT has a ton of unique roads…….