My wife and I plan on riding from Ontario Canada to visit Utah and New Mexico this summer. WE are looking for any tips and or cautions we should be aware of. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

The ride from Denver to Albuquerque is really nice. Did it in a cage this past fall. Would have loved to have been on a bike. If you go to Albuquerque, check out the Sandia Mountains tram. It's cool. But take a jacket with you. It goes from around 6,000 feet up to the peak over 10,000 ft high.

Oh, and if you go that route, check out the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and look for the Cheyenne Mountain Complex (NORAD or whatever they call it now) just South of CS. That's the one where you drive into the mountain.

Just West of Denver in Golden is "Lookout Mountain". You can also see Buffalo Bills grave site there. Also, in Colorado Springs, check out the "Garden of the Gods". There's also some Pueblo ruins in the area that are cool. And of course, Pikes Peak.

BTW, Google Earth is fantastic for planning out trips.

 

I'm riding through Southern Utah this summer... again...

You really should travel the journey through time, scenic byway...

And a ride that sticks in my memory, although it has been several years since I've ridden it...

From Pagosa Springs CO take Hwy 84 south to Tierra Amarilla NMthen Hwy 64 east to Taos NM..

 

Watch out for the winds in Wyoming. Other than that, have a good ride!

 

I guess it all depends on what ya like...but if yer lookin for scenic, then here's my 2 cents.

Head across US-2 (The Great Northern) and drop down thru Montana...I recommend Red Lodge as a nice town to spend the night (just southwest of Billings)...try Bogarts for dinner...excellent margaritas there. Then ya can take US-212 over Beartooth Pass...an outstandin ride you don't wanna miss...been labeled the most scenic road in America...and down into Yellowstone and the Tetons. Just a note here...if ya wanna stay in Yellowstone overnight, book NOW. We're headin out there in July...booked our room a couple months ago, and pickins for reasonable rooms were slim then. Go on down to the northeast corner of Utah...thru Flaming Gorge and on to Moab where ya can hit Arches National Park and Canyonlands. From Moab, I'd jump over to Grand Junction, CO and take the "Million Dollar Highway" (US-50/550) down to Durango, CO (another nice spot for an overnighter). US-550 outta Durango will take ya to Albuquerque.

For the route home...head back up thru CO and hit southwest SD for the sights there...Rushmore, Custer, Needles Hwy, Spearfish Canyon, Badlands...highly recommend an EARLY mornin ride thru the Badlands. And there's always the Sturgis Rally if yer hittin it that time of year. Or, if ya wanna see hundreds of miles of nothingness, ya could head across OK or KS before turnin north again. hehe

As for cautions...iceman mentioned one of 'em...winds...but they ain't just in Wyoming. Hail storms aren't uncommon out there either. I live in East TN where fuel is not a prob...but there are areas out there where I wouldn't pass up many fuel stop opportunities.

 

You're not being very nice!!!! [:@] (It is true about Kansas though )

 

I tell ya what Danny...we left Tucumcari, NM one mornin and didn't stop for much of anything 'cept gas til we hit Fort Smith, AR. Not the longest one-day ride I've ever done...but prolly the longest one-day-of-nothing ride I've ever done. hehe Actually, I kinda enjoyed it...lots of time to clear the head...well, 'cept for that couple hundred miles of the same tune stuck in my head. LOL

 

tip,,, have your pass port,,, and leave that Hydraponic POT home!!!

 

Yeah, I-40 isn't much fun. (assuming that's the road you took). But, I've seen areas like that in just about every State.If you're ever down this way again, let me know and I'll hook you up with some scenic roads that are much better. Especially in the Southeast or Northeast parts of the State.

How did you survive all the bugs in New Mexico??? They still owe me an exterminator fee for the bajillion that I killed with the wife's car last fall.

 

I've driven my Jeep out from Toronto to Colorado/Utah every summer for almost 20 years now.

This year I might take the bike.

If at all possible find a way where you don't have to go thru Nebraska (I80)or Kansas (I70). Talk about boring. I swear you could drive thru Nebraska without even turning the bars for 100 mile at a time.

I second Hwy 550 down thru Silverton/Durango.Amazing views and lots of turns.

From Colorado into Utah is beautiful too. Like nowhere else.

And last but not least SUNSCREEN, the sun thruout the plain states is different than we get here. Much stronger and hotter.