Hi all,

my girlfriend and I will be in NorCal this summer and we are planning to go on a motorcycle trip. Does anyone of you have some suggestions of where to go? Maybe some hidden gems that you can't find in the regular guidebooks?

I am quite familiar with the Bay Area, Santa Cruz mountains, Napa Valley, and the coastal area of Marin county. I've also been to Clear Lake once, but haven't explored much in the far north. Any suggestions for me? Any good streets to explore on my Softail?

Thanks for your help!
Martin

 

Not sure how far North or how much time you have but.......From the Bay aria to Oregon border the coast has some great riding. It can be a bit slow going in spots but well worth it for the most part. Id say stay clear of Fort Bragg, dumpy little town and the coastal road heading north out of there is brutal, not saying its not beautiful it is. But its rough and traffic can be terrible so its just not worth it IMHO. Avenue of the Giants is a must and everything north of there with the exception of Eureka is really nice riding. Eal River Brewery in Fortuna is fantastic and the town of Ferndale is a nice place to check out. If you choose to go inland on say Hwy 36 or 299 then id definitely do Lassen Park then maybe 89 over to Burney Falls and 99 back down into Redding. 299 is the nicer ride imo but its closed right now although that'll prolly change before summer. If you ride 299 theres a great little town called French Gulch just before Whiskytown Lake that has an old Hotel/Saloon. Fun ride, great food and they have live music every Saturday night. I live in Redding and know the aria well including the coast. If you decide to come up this way im happy to help any way I can.

 

Woohoo! Thanks so much, that's exactly the kind of info I was hoping for. We wanted to go up to Redwood National Park anyways, so your suggestions are definitey spot on.

Ahh.... planning a bike trip is the best thing in the world :-)