I'm trying to plan Next years road trip.

So far I'm planning on heading west on I-70 out of Salina,KS to Vail,CO.

Then 24 south through Leadville to 50 west over to Montrose followed by 550 to Durango.

There I would like to head over to the Grand Canyon if time permits.

What is the best route from Durango to the GC?

With only 10 days available,this may be a little ambitious since this IS a vacation

I could always dead-head it back from the GC but would like a relaxing pace for the main part of the trip. Likely to be 350-400 miles per day from Vail to the GC.

Should I save the Grand Canyon for another trip and just meander my way back through Colorado towards Kansas?

Any other suggestions on the Colorado portion?

What is the best time of year for this area?

I don't mind some rain but I don't have snow chains for my Road king

Thanks for your help!

 

I'm not sure why you want to spend so much of your trip riding I-70. It is quite beautiful once you get into the mountains, but it is still super slab and not the most interesting ride for a motorcycle.

Why not get onto 24 in Limon and go south into Colorado Springs? You have all kinds of options from there.

You can stay on 24 or go south and catch Hwy 50 to Salida and parts west. This is a wonderful ride through a canyon on a two lane highway with lots of twisties and great scenery. You can ride to Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then take the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray to Silverton.

It doesn't sound like you plan to do any hiking, but if you want to, there are plenty of great trails along the way.

If you want to "meander", I would encourage you to ride Hwy 69 from Texas Creek to Westcliffe and check out the Sangre de Cristos. Great stuff.

 

I-70 is the most direct route out of Kansas!

I like living in the plains but once you've seen a field,you pretty much know what one looks like

I have some friends in Vail that I would like to visit so I thought that would be a good first stop.

A Kansan's road trip consists of riding a loooooong day to get somewhere else on the first day followed by another looooong day on the last day to get home!

Western Kansas is a necessary evil to go west.

Eastern Kansas isn't so bad but,it's the wrong direction!

Thanks for you suggestions.

I'll take it into consideration.

I'm trying to convince the wife that we could easily spend a week in Colorado.

 

IMHO you ought to give yourself more time in Colorado and save the Grand Canyon for a trip of its own. I have ridden there twice and there is a lot to see.

Your post made me think of this scene from National Lampoon Vacation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33HUjLT5zVU

 

LOL! That's what I'm trying to avoid

 

Actually sounds like a good trip, so far. The ride from Montrose to Durango is just awesome.


Well, there is no direct route, and the GC may be a bit far.

Consider the following: After Durango, hit Mesa Verde NP. And then amble your way west to Monument Valley. IMO, if you're going to Durango and are so close to the Four Corners, then you've got to see Monument Valley. It's much closer to Durango and will be a ride you'll never forget.

You have options coming back. You could then spend a little more time in Utah, see Canyonlands NP and/or Moab. Or just head up to Monticello and pick one of the many ways back to I-70 (I like the road to Telluride), or go back to Durango and then work east through SW Colorado....

The Grand Canyon has its attraction, but I think it may be a bit of a stretch for that trip. So much to see right around there.


That will also give you the leeway to spend more time

With only 10 days available,this may be a little ambitious since this IS a vacation

I could always dead-head it back from the GC but would like a relaxing pace for the main part of the trip. Likely to be 350-400 miles per day from Vail to the GC.

Should I save the Grand Canyon for another trip and just meander my way back through Colorado towards Kansas?

Any other suggestions on the Colorado portion?

What is the best time of year for this area?

I don't mind some rain but I don't have snow chains for my Road king

Thanks for your help![/QUOTE]

 

[/quote]

I agree 100% with your suggestions. I agree the ride around Colorado is wonderful, especially the Montrose to Durango (make sure to stop in Ouray) is a great ride. Take the ride up to Mesa Verde and also check out the canyon lands, and other sites there. Not much to see at four corners but just to say you've been there but it's pretty desolate around there. If you MUST make it to the grand canyon the nicest route is from the north through Bryce and Zion off of 89. If you can take 89 south Kanab - Fredonia - Jacob Lake over to Marble Canyon it's really beautiful. From Jacob Lake you can hit the north rim of the GC but if you want the south rim do the Marble Canyon route to 64. Time will be a problem as there are so many nice rides in that area.

If it were me I'd make two trips out of it.

 

2nd Mike... Save the GC for a trip further SW. Last week I returned from a trip to NW Colorado (I'm writing a book on motorcycling Colorado -- at Amazon/elsewhere in about a year), and rode Dinosaur National Monument, taking the Harper's Corner Rd. 28 miles from the Monument entrance to its termination at the Harper's Overlook. Along the way there are several stunning and dramatic overlooks at the Green and Yampa River canyons waaaay down below and I kept thinking to myself "Why even go to the Grand Canyon."

If in western CO find Hwy 141 running north/south near the Utah border. Outstanding. Take this up to Grand Junction. West of Grand Junction take the great Hwy 139 over Douglas Pass to Rangely and then Dinosaur. The White River Ride along 64 east of Rangely is a great way to work yourself back east towards Steamboat or Aspen via Hwy 13 out of Meeker. 13 is nice too.

 

The "Vacations" snip it did the trick!

It looks like an extended Colorado trip is in our future!

I appreciate the suggestions and if anyone knows of more spots to hit,please let me know!

I feel better already!

 

I'd suggest turning right(US-6) when you get to Golden and hitting the peak to peak hwy, then head up and over Rocky Mtn National park. Skip the slab between Golden and Vail and find an alternate route. Everything else looks like a fun trip. This is how I'd ride over to Leadville if I wasn't from here.