Ride to North Rim, southern and eastern Utah, little riding in NM and Co.

5 friends, street bikes, Mainly camping except the first and last nights. Starting in Taos, NM. High road (518, 75, 76, 503, 4) to Los Alamos and San Ysidro, slab to Gallup. Canyon de Chelly, North Rim, hike Wire Pass (Google it), Zion, E kolob Canyon Road, Cedar breaks, Hwy 14, 143, 50, 89, 12, Bryce, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Burr Trail from Boulder until it turns to dirt, Scenic drive from Fruita until it turns to dirt, Hwy 24, Slab to Moab, Dead horse Point, Mesa Arch (hopefully at daybreak) Grand View and short hike to edge, Arches drive thru with a hike to Landscape Arch or maybe Delicate Arch, Hwy 46, 90 and 141 (my favorite road in Colorado) to Colorado National Monument, I-70 and 128 back to Moab, slab to Natural Bridges, Moki dugway, Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks State Park, Forest Gump Point (where he ends his run), slab to Farmington, Hwy 64 back to Taos. About 3,000 miles in 14 days of riding. Too much? Miss something really nice?

If the East Kolob Canyon road is the one that starts at Virgin on Hwy 9 and runs up the West side of Zion NP, it is only paved up to the Kolob Reservoir. After that, it is dirt all the way to Cedar City. Parts of it were VERY bumpy and wash boarded when we rode it last September.

If you hit Bryce Canyon, don't waste your time with Cedar Breaks NM. It is the equivalent of ONE of the MANY scenic overlook points at Bryce. Of course, if you do stop, it takes all of five minutes to see it, unlike Bryce.

Hwy 14, 148 and 143 are paved and fun. They are patrolled.

If it works with your schedule, there is a nice place to stay in Escalante. the Circle D Motel. It is on the West side of town. Rooms were nice/clean, but basic. Good water pressure in shower and hot water. The attached restaurant was great! A nice place to sit outside, enjoy some drinks and watch the sun go down.

Are you planning to run up 12 to 24 at Torrey and then through Capitol Reef NP over to Hanksville? If not, you should.

The run south on 95 between the two ends of 276 is really great! The sweepers through the canyon are incredible. There is a marina on the right just after you cross the bridge on the Colorado River. It has gas and basic snacks/drinks. They keep it cold inside as well.

276 down to Bull Frog marina is fun. There is a hotel and restaurant there. It is nice, but slightly pricey because it is the ONLY game in town. You can also get gas. If the Halls Crossing Ferry is running, you can take it across and continue on 276, coming out near Natural Bridges NM, then head for the Moki Dugway.

Valley of the Gods is dirt I think.

When are you going? Jay and I are leaving Houston on Father's Day heading to Las Vegas via South Rim. I have to work a convention the last week of June. Then we head to Zion, Arches, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, and home. 3+ total week and about 4500 miles.

If you go to North Rim between now and June 1 they have no running water. There was a rock slide in the off-season and it cut the water line to North Rim. They are trucking in water. So be aware of the limited resources if you go before then.

If you have time try and schedule so that you're sitting up at Delicate Arch for sunset. It's one of the best experiences there is.

Zion right now is experiencing snow melt in the higher elevations so the Virgin River and the Narrows is closed. The rangers say probably until around June 1 due to high water flow. If you're a hiker and like unique experiences make sure you hike up to Angel's Landing. But if so you need to start early in the day to avoid all of the crazy tourists who think they can do it and then get scared and clog up the whole trail for everyone.

Scott is right, Cedar Breaks is not worth the time if you go to Bryce.

Highway 12 is one of the best roads we've ridden. Enjoy it.

Hopefully you all have campsites reserved because there just ain't none available in the 6 month window recreation.gov has open now.

Look forward to your trip report and photos.

Ride safe.

drfood
"Hopefully you all have campsites reserved because there just ain't none available in the 6 month window recreation.gov has open now." Mainly staying in national forest and BLM.

We're only going to Cedar Breaks for the roads.

Scott "If the East Kolob Canyon road is the one that starts at Virgin on Hwy 9 and runs up the West side of Zion NP, it is only paved up to the Kolob Reservoir. After that, it is dirt all the way to Cedar City. Parts of it were VERY bumpy and wash boarded when we rode it last September."
I've ridden that road on my DRZ, but the East Kolob Canyon road is actually the western entrance to Zion, off the interstate.

Lots of good tips from both of you. Thanks.

We are going to ride 12 and 24. Scott, is the marina near Hwy 95 off the main highway?

humanrace said:

We are going to ride 12 and 24. Scott, is the marina near Hwy 95 off the main highway?

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It is at Bullfrog on Hwy 276 where it stops on the north side of Lake Powell. Ferry from their continues 276 across the lake to Halls Crossing. It then connects back into 95 but that's past all the best scenic stuff. Ferry was closed last Sunday and Monday and has been up and down the past 6 months so a crapshoot. Expensive also as $15 for a motorcycle.

North Rim was still closed for the winter as of last Saturday. You couldn't go past Jacob's Lake. Was nice riding 89/89A without all the normal traffic though.

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The Hite Marina is on the NE end of Lake Powell where 95 crosses the Colorado River. The turn will be on your right if you are heading South, about a mile past the bridge. The actual marina and store is another 1/2 mile or so down that little side road back toward the river/lake. If you are heading that direction, it is pretty much the ONLY place out there to get gas, snacks, and to use actual restrooms. The ride on 95 is really nice. A little South of the 95/276 Northern intersection, Hog Springs is on the right (West side). If you want to do a little hiking, it is a cool spot.

Bull Frog Marina is actually on Lake Powell where 276 crosses on Halls Crossing Ferry. The ferry was down last September when we were out there. They were waiting on parts to arrive from Norway. Schedule, fees and current info is here. When I was planning the trip it was open. Right before we left, I just happened to check it again and it was closed. This meant a major route revision! If you were to approach from the North and it was closed, it would be inconvenient and waste a lot of time, but you could still get gas so you'd be able to backtrack. However, if you approached from the South and were not topped off before you headed that way, there is NO GAS on the South side of the crossing and you could be in a pickle if you had to backtrack! It is 45 miles each way from 95 to the crossing on the South side. If you gassed up in Blanding, it is about 84 miles to the crossing. From the South side back around to 95 and up to Hite Marina is about the same distance. So no matter what, you'd have to be able to run 170 miles or so if the ferry wasn't running. I mention this because when we drove by the South end of 276 on our way up 95, there was no sign letting people know the ferry was down!!

On a side note. If you are ever out there on dual sport bikes, the ride between Blanding and Hite Marina on Brushy Basin, Elk, and Woodenshoe Roads is absolutely fantastic! It covers a wide range of terrain, scenery, and altitude. I did it on my 1200 GS with the Heidenau K60s with no problems (but there was no mud that day). It would be tricky in wet conditions. Two other riders were on a GS and GSA. The fourth was on a KTM 690. You can see tons of pics and the report here, part 1 and part 2. Lastly, here is another DS ride from Blanding that was spectacular. We did it on the small bikes, but most of it could have been done on the big bikes without too much trouble.

The run up through Jacob's Lake on 89A is really sweet! There is gas at the lodge/hotel at the top.

I have attached a PDF. It has the hotel info for the places we stayed on our Sept trip. All of them were quite nice. The exceptions were the Red Lion in Farmington and the Econo Lodge in Salina. They weren't bad by any means, they just weren't really nice like the others. The place in Escalante was older, but clean and nice, plus had the great restaurant. The places in Cedar City, Heber City, Rangely, and Gunnison were all very nice. They all had good hot tubs except for Escalante and Salina, which had no tub or pool at all.

Keep in mind that when you are in Utah, if it is a Sunday, a LOT of places will be closed. We were in Cedar City on a Sunday. We found a Dickey's BBQ open on the interstate. Most everything else was closed though.

When you drop out at Panquitch on 89, you might consider heading North to Kingston, then over to Antimony on 62, and back down 22, Black Canyon, and John's Valley Rd. It is paved. The Antimony Mercantile is right at that sharp 90 corner in town. It is not much to look at. The food was fantastic. I got the recommendation from some folks on Advrider. The road South drops you out right at the entrance to Bryce. This loop would add around 60 miles compared to just heading straight to Bryce via 89/12.