Top 10 dual sport roads in Texas

I picked up the latest issue of Ride Texas magazine last night. It is their annual Top 10 edition. For those not familiar with this magazine or their Top 10 list, each year the readers of the magazine vote on their top 10 roads, destination, events, etc. This year a top 10 dual sport roads category was included for the first time. Here is the list and the regional location.

1. Cow Creek Road - Hill country
2. The River Road - Big Bend country
3. Old Ore Road - Big Bend country
4. Willow City Loop - Hill country
5. RR 1077 (unpaved segment) - Hill Country
6. Old Maverick Road - Big Bend country
7. Althaus-Davis Road - Hill Country
8. Lake Mt Pleasant Rd - Piney Woods
9. Klein-Ahrens Road - Hill Country
10. Hen Egg Road - Big Bend country

The Big Bend area has 4 of the top 10 dual sport roads. The Hill Country has 5 of the top 10 dual sport roads. So, 9 of 10 top dual sport roads are located in just 2 regions of our very large state.

Personally, I'd include Pinto Canyon Road in the top 3 even though it didn't make the list.

We'r keeping that one a secret, dont tell anybody. SEYA

David,

Just so I don't dork it up, what other top ds roads are we keeping secret?

Well, my favorite dirt road in the Hill country isn't listed in the top 10 and that's fine w/me. I bet you know which one I'm thinking of Richard--I've ridden it w/you.

I've yet to see another moto on it and, with exception of opening weekend of deer season, I've encountered only one cage and the driver appeared lost.

It would seem to me that a top 10 DS road would have to be dirt and that's not the case w/Willow city Loop.

Ron,

I agree - a top DS road would seem to need at least some unpaved sections or it's suitable for any 'ol bike. Or, a good water crossing on a paved road and it could make the list.

So, here's a question for everyone on this forum - What are your personal Top 10 dual sport roads in the state of Texas?

I can only vote for roads I've personally ridden, so here's my Top 10 list:

1. Pinto Canyon Road - Big Bend (I pick this one as #1 due to the extreme elevation change & scenery travelling north to south)
2. River Road - Big Bend
3. James River Road - hill country (I'm gonna make it all the way across without falling down next time, dang it!)
4. Cow Creek Road - hill country (okay, I know it's all paved, but there is lots of gravel on it too, so I'm votin for it.)
5. Blanco CR 101 - barely qualifies as a DS route, but since the pavement is all dorked up and there's gravel on it, it qualifies in my book.
6. Old School Road - hill country
7. South County Road - Big Bend (I haven't ridden all of this road, but the miles I did ride were very good.)
8. Llano CR 315 - very fun road
9. West Sabinal Road - hill country
10. Althus Davis Road - hill country

I'm willing to bet that 1 year from now my top 10 list will change since there are a bunch of other roads I have yet to ride.

Richard,

Here are my favorites within 50 miles of my base near the old spicewood community.

1. Llano CR 315 and the loop you can make on connecting CR 309 and 310 and 310A. Lots of game, no cars and few houses you can see.

2. althus-davis

3. Blanco CR 307 (S. of round mt. off from 281)

4. Burnet CR 405. this one is a real sleeper--don't be stopped by the gates as they are not locked.

Yeah, I haven't listed 10, but I'm new to dirt.

There are no road in East Texas worthy of Top Ten DS status... move along... Nothing to see here...

If you ever make it over here, let me know and I can show you some of the really crappy ones

Come on touring master! Surely there are some worthy of Top 10. You're not holding out on us, are you? Trying to hog all the good roads in east Texas? I think it's safe to post them here; those roads won't get overrun with a bunch of new riders. The majority of bikes sold in the US are cruisers and none of those folks even remotely understand our dirty nature. I always tell them "if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."

Let them have river road , I rode it in 1990 and was bored , from Castalon to Black gap would be the perfect place to dump nueclear waste , nothing to see and miles of sand , I saw 1 road runner , 1 rattelsnake and 2 lizzards . The only thing good about it is it gets you to Black Gap road . When your in the Hill country try Click road between 16 and CR 309 , great road just not long enough. The Hill Country has some great roads ,but it takes a lot of miles to tie the good stuff together . Theres one road on the east side of the LLano river just north of Junction that has some nice elevation change , no challenge to ride but really nice overlooks of the river . East Texas has some good roads but so much of it is oil field or logging roads that arn't on the maps and are sand when dry and mud when wet , and dont have the vistas , just trees and creek bottoms. Little Blanco Creek rd west from 281 is a sweet ride , all paved and some nice creek crossings , you feel like your riding in somebodys front yard . We dont want ricky racer and the harly crowd finding that one or there will be a gate on it . I dont think the hog chapter will add it to there route , most of them would be piled up in the bottom of the creek . My SIL crashed my GC last time we went through there. I usally go through there on my to or from the hill country , one trip back I came down Crabapple to Old Blanco and got behind a large group of cruisers I was about to pass when they came to a 2 foot wide water crossing after that I was laughing so hard at ther manuvers to cross that raging river I couldn't pass , and there were 2 more before we got to the Little Blanco cut off. MY alltime favorite is Elm Pass road south from Center Point then turn east on I think Old School rd. and come out on 16 at Privlage Creek . I never stopped to read the road signes. Another fav is Bat Cave road and Grape Creek from Comfort to Lukenbach , All paved but there are places you can get air when you feel like it . Now you got me thinking about a hill country run . SEYA

Richard_ said:

5. Blanco CR 101 - barely qualifies as a DS route, but since the pavement is all dorked up and there's gravel on it, it qualifies in my book.

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Fun road, even on a street bike. Recall one little dip/bump combination where you can get a little air.

David is correct. A lot of the roads don't even show up on the maps. Short of just leading a ride, I don't think I would be able to describe the routes in sufficient details for someone else to be able to figure out where they are going. It is true that there are not a whole lot of sweeping vistas, but there is still some really nice scenery. Also, I like the little roads that snake down in the woods and through the creeks. You do have to be comfortable with riding in the sand though, there is a LOT of it in East Texas. It's not that bad though, there are tons of places where it is gravel, dirt, clay, etc,... It is hard to make routes though because so many of the roads dead end into private property, gated National Forest roads, deer leases and such.

Anyone ever try the dirt road from Langtry Texas to Pandale about 31 miles also the road south of Queens New Mexico at El Paso gap to Dell City Texas about 55 miles one bad mother.

We did part of the Pandale Rd., on the way out to Big Bend last April. We did not run all the way South to Langtry. We cut West to Old Pumpville Rd., and then headed South. That was a FUN ride!! Even despite hitting a deer at about 60mph Then there was the flock of sheep covering the entire road on the backside of a hill... I love riding out there!

Jaime Fierro said:

Anyone ever try the dirt road from Langtry Texas to Pandale about 31 miles also the road south of Queens New Mexico at El Paso gap to Dell City Texas about 55 miles one bad mother.

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We went Pandale to Lantry last year. Easy road.

Is there anybody near Lufkin with a Dual Sport that doesn't mind sand, a little mud, and serious ruts? There are literally hundreds of miles of challenging roads out there that need to be explored. I haven't had any bad experiences yet, but sometimes have given thoughts to how unwise it is to ride alone.

I was able to ride RR1077 today. The unpaved section of this road is #5 on the Ride Texas magazine Top 10 DS Roads. I'm not sure why this particular road made the top 10. It's not a bad road, but it certainly didn't strike me as being anything particularly special and it won't be on my top 10 ds roads. I would ride it if I happened to be in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way just to ride it again. As always, YMMV.

Good good... just what I want to hear... Now everyone reading the mag will be heading out there leaving the truly fun stuff to me

Aw, you guys are making me homesick!

I hear the Big Bend calling leaving Monday the 20th, spending 4 nights. Hope to be able to ride all the roads mention for that area. The Bullett, Cody, and myself will be staying at the Easter Egg Valley Motel if anyone wants to joins us.

I believe I've located the best dual sport road in Texas outside of the Big Bend region. (There are some better DS roads in the Big Bend region, so this is the best I've found not in that area.) Or we could call it the last great dual sport road in the hill country. It took 2.5 hours to ride it's length yesterday. Today I took a shortcut and it only took 1 hr 45 minutes to ride it's length. It's just a fun DS road. And, of course, plenty of water crossings too.

More to follow...

I've posted my trip report of a 3 day ride to west Texas in the ride report forum. During that trip I believe we rode the best dual sport road in Texas not in Big Bend - CR 350 in Edwards County. It runs from Hwy 55 in the east to Hwy 674 in the west, turning into CR 310 and then Cedar Creek Rd in the process. Great road! Here are some pics of the road:

Mike on one of several water crossings on CR 350


A "fixer-upper" special along the road


Near the western end the terrain clearly changes from the hill country to that of west Texas


Looking east


Another water crossing


Another shot of Mike

I rode Kleins-Ahrens road today, which is #9 on the Ride Texas list of top 10 ds roads. It was an okay road - nothing spectacular or outstanding - but not a destination worthy road by itself. Warmund-Ahrens Road, which intersects with the northern end of Klein-Ahrens Rd is a significantly better dual sport road than Klein-Ahrens. Warmund-Ahrens is a fun dual sport road - not quite destination worthy, but certainly worth a ride anytime you are in the area (it's near the Willow City loop which is destination worthy).

I wonder how the top 10 list would change since 2006 for the hill country. I noticed 1 I enjoy near me and Pipe Creek - Bandera. I just rode it today on a DR350. Many roads have been paved in 10 years, including 1 I checked on today. There is still a fun short part beyond where "County Maintenance Ends".

Welcome out of lurk mode JSB

Readers of this [resurrected from 2006] thread may be interested in a May 2016 Hill Country tour:

Hill Country 500: May 21 - 22, 2016