Trip Planning Help

[NCSam]

Because you have mentioned wanting to go to Zion, you should also visit Bryce Canyon which is just up the road. And, as long as you are in the area, riding Highway 12 through Grand Escalante National Monument, either from Torrey to Bryce or vice versa, should be on the list. It is spectacular.

The Pacific coast is amazing, but realistically, with only three weeks to ride, you might want to forget about riding all the way to the west coast and, instead, concentrate on the Rockies, from Montana south. Just a thought.

Hwy 12 is definetely on my list. As much as I hate to, I am coming to the conclusion to bypass California. Thanks for your
suggestions.

 

[Al st1100]

I just spent a few days in Utah, check out youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwq79Wi5ixc there are many short videos from this guy on 12,24 and 95 I thought 95 was great, very desolate, didn't see a car for 30 min spans. Zion is amazing but you will not be able to ride thru the main canyon. Get there early and take the shuttle. There are a few short hikes that are something to see. Waking under waterfalls and some slot canyons. I did the Angels Landing hike, 4 hrs strenuous .

 

[Mick]

Hwy 12 is definetely on my list.

An excellent choice. Spectacular scenery.

 

[Buddy]

Lots of the parks in Utah are ride throughs for me, with stops at visitors centers and at view points. That includes Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Dead Horse, etc. At the North Rim, I'd take the road up to Imperial Point, have dinner at the Lodge, and then sit out on the verandah overlooking the canyon. In four days you can cover a lot. If you're spending more time, consider Antelope Canyon, which is a walk. Beautiful, but not for the claustrophobic.

 

[Saltydog]

Hey Sam if you are leaving NC the last week of Aug you need to stop in at CampSTOC XI-2015 https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?143452-CampSTOC-XI-2015 it is Aug 20-22

If you are from eastern NC we can meet up and ride together

 

[Buddy]

Waterton Lakes NP across the border from Glacier is definitely worth a stop. Take your passport.

 

[Mick]

At the North Rim, I'd take the road up to Imperial Point, have dinner at the Lodge, and then sit out on the verandah overlooking the canyon. In four days you can cover a lot. If you're spending more time, consider Antelope Canyon, which is a walk. Beautiful, but not for the claustrophobic.

The GC north rim is a fun ride from Page. You drop down to the desert floor and eventually run parallel to the beautiful red Vermilion Cliffs. The temps along the desert floor can be pretty toasty at 100+- (practically no humidity so it's quite bearable) but a little ways past the Vermilion Cliffs, you ascend the Kaibab plateau where the Grand Canyon is located and it immediately gets cooler. The last time I was there, it was 109 in the desert and something like the mid 70's or lower at the top of the plateau. Beautiful ride.

 

[NCSam]

I just spent a few days in Utah, check out youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwq79Wi5ixc there are many short videos from this guy on 12,24 and 95 I thought 95 was great, very desolate, didn't see a car for 30 min spans. Zion is amazing but you will not be able to ride thru the main canyon. Get there early and take the shuttle. There are a few short hikes that are something to see. Waking under waterfalls and some slot canyons. I did the Angels Landing hike, 4 hrs strenuous .

Thanks for the ideas. Not much of a hiker but plan on doing some walking...! Enjoying watching the videos ypu suggested plus others. One reason I'm thinking about tent camping again is the flexibility to adjust my rides. I don't think I will make great time stopping at so many overlooks to look and take pictures!!

 

[NCSam]

The GC north rim is a fun ride from Page. You drop down to the desert floor and eventually run parallel to the beautiful red Vermilion Cliffs. The temps along the desert floor can be pretty toasty at 100+- (practically no humidity so it's quite bearable) but a little ways past the Vermilion Cliffs, you ascend the Kaibab plateau where the Grand Canyon is located and it immediately gets cooler. The last time I was there, it was 109 in the desert and something like the mid 70's or lower at the top of the plateau. Beautiful ride.

Thanks again, Mick. Getting more excited with each suggestion you guys are giving me.

 

[NCSam]

Hey Sam if you are leaving NC the last week of Aug you need to stop in at CampSTOC XI-2015 https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?143452-CampSTOC-XI-2015 it is Aug 20-22

If you are from eastern NC we can meet up and ride together

Appreciate the invite but leaving out of Statesville for my first stop at my daughters home in Nashville.

 

[NCSam]

Lots of the parks in Utah are ride throughs for me, with stops at visitors centers and at view points. That includes Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Dead Horse, etc. At the North Rim, I'd take the road up to Imperial Point, have dinner at the Lodge, and then sit out on the verandah overlooking the canyon. In four days you can cover a lot. If you're spending more time, consider Antelope Canyon, which is a walk. Beautiful, but not for the claustrophobic.

Thanks again for the excellent suggestions. If I skip Washington, Oregon and California I will have more time to explore Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Colorado. The more I hear about Utah, I may need more time I wonder if the views will ultimately become repetitive and boring??!!! I think I have seen pictures of Antelope Canyon - I will definetely want to do that.

 

[Buddy]

Never been bored in Utah.

 

[Mick]

I just spent a few days in Utah, check out youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwq79Wi5ixc there are many short videos from this guy on 12,24 and 95 I thought 95 was great, very desolate, didn't see a car for 30 min spans.

Cool video. I thought the road looked familiar then I saw a bridge over the canyon that I've traveled over a couple of times. Here's a pic that a guy in our group took as we were coming up on that very bridge. That's me on my '01 ST1100 (gone but not forgotten) up front:

 

[Uncle Phil]

Mick - I remember that bridge. Seems like there is a pretty good restaurant a few miles back that we stopped at for breakfast!

 

[Mick]

Mick - I remember that bridge. Seems like there is a pretty good restaurant a few miles back that we stopped at for breakfast!

Don't remember the restaurant Phil. Guess I was just too enthralled with the scenery to notice it... OR the memory of it is gone, a victim of my many aging, deteriorating brain cells (just ask my wife about that one... ). If you traveled through Mexican Hat before hitting 95 maybe the restaurant was the Swinging Steak? The only other place I remember before hitting Torrey was that gas station near Hanksville that is built into a cliff. Don't remember if it had a restaurant or not.

 

[Uncle Phil]

The restaurant was in Cameron - sort of a trading post - so my memories maybe running together! ;-) I think the restaurant was actually on 89, about 300 miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on the way to the North Rim. The bridge I was thinking about was a suspension bridge still standing. The one in the picture is around Glen Canyon, IIRC.

http://www.unclephil.us/West2009Day14.htm

 

[Mick]

so my memories maybe running together! ;-)

I am SO glad I'm not the only one this happens to!

 

[Uncle Phil]

I am SO glad I'm not the only one this happens to!

At least we still have memories to run together ... ;-)

 

[Soontobeone]

It's a bit out of the way, but if you're going to Zion try to take in the Petrified Forest and The Painted Desert in Arizona (they run into each other). It's very vehicle friendly and definitely worth the trip. Flagstaff, AZ is two hours away and a good place to stay. September is the perfect time to visit.

 

[Tor]

Chief Joseph Highway. At the end, hang a right and continue through Beartooth pass . Then come back and enter Yellowstone on the north end. Dont know which way you're coming in, but if youre coming across the Bighorns, head up 37 to Bighorn Canyon.