My wife and I are considering a one way ride from Jackson Hole to Vegas during the last week of September. We're thinking about a 4-5 day ride. Any advice on points that I should hit? Any must do places to see along this route? What can we expect in regard to riding temperature? I understand that the area is quite mountainous so I'm thinking that early mornings and late evenings will be cold. Any advice would be appreciated.

Blair Thistle
Newfoundland, Canada

 

Perfect time of year for the fall colors in the mountain areas. You have to see Yellowstone while you're there. Once you hit Utah, take any route except hwy.15. And the evenings will be cool on the mountains. There is even a chance of snow at higher elevations. Have fun.

 

Assuming you will have already spent some time riding north a bit to explore Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP.....if not, I can suggest all kinds of good rides in the area.

Prepare for it to be chilly that time of year. Autumn usually sets into the area last week of August or so (high altitude). Just prepare yourself with lots of base layers, good gloves, rain gear, etc. And, yes, avoid riding in the evenings or early mornings. Remember that sundown comes earlier in the mountains and it can get below freezing in mere minutes. Black ice is a very real concern. It will get warmer as you proceed SW.

From Jackson, I'd suggest heading south on US 189 and follow that all the way to Kemmerer. That will give you a good mix of Wyoming: mountain views, great rivers, and high plains. Take a side trip on US 30 west to Fossil Butte, if you want. Keep on US 189 south to Evanston.

Then take WY 150, which turns into UT 150. Great ride through the Wasatch. You will get spit out near Park City, take US 189 again to I-15. Once you clear the greater SLC burbs, I-15 is a nice enough ride. Use it to make some time until you get to southern Utah. Lots to see down there. Pick which NPs you want to visit and plan accordingly. Zion NP is the one closest to I-15, but if you get off the slab further north (and you have some time) you can drop down to Bryce Canyon and all kinds other things.

There are many excellent rides in southern Utah, and we have some members here from the area who, hopefully, will post some suggestions. I know MT and WY pretty well and am better help for that area, but I only get down to southern UT once a year.

 

Follow Faber's advice through Utah until the I-15 part...actually, you will want to stay on I-15 for about 30 miles, from Orem (where 189 will spit you out of the mountains) to Nephi, UT. At Nephi, take exit 222 for UT-28 to Salina, UT. At Salina, you will take I-70 East for about 30 miles, then take exit 86 for UT-72. This is one of my most favorite (and desolate) roads in Utah. Take UT-72 to Loa and hang a left on UT-24 towards Torrey, UT. You can take a quick cruise through Capitol Reef NP, but you'll want to backtrack to Torrey and take UT-12 towards Boulder/Escalante and eventually Bryce Canyon NP. UT-12 is a must! It will take you through some of the most beautiful scenery and diverse landscapes of Utah. After Bryce, stay on UT-12 west to the "T" with US-89 and hang another left. Take US-89 south for about 45 miles and hang a right on UT-9. This takes you right through the middle of Zion NP. From Zion, UT-9 will take you out to I-15 and St. George, UT. It's about 75 miles or so to Las Vegas from there. Happy trails!

 

Pretty good advice given above. Unless you wanted to see Lake Tahoe and the surrounding area.

 

Thanks, TBB. I was hoping you'd come through.

I'm gonna do that ride myself next time I'm down your way. Every time I'm in southern UT I have a great time but always feel like I'm missing something....

 

Faber/TBB thanks for the advise.

I'll be spending some time putting together a route on mapquest over the next few days. I'll post a link so you guys can check it out for me. I got one started but it still needs some work. I started putting it together before I read your posts and ironically I picked several of the roads that you both recommended. Just a couple of questions.....the route that I have planned so far avoids I-80 and I-15 almost entirely. Can you tell me if there is a route that heads south of Evanston for about 40 miles and then west for about 20 miles to Kamas? If there is, I would like to take this road instead of I-80. Also can you tell me if there is a route to go directly through the mountains between Gunnison and Ferron? Map quest is showing some routes that I cannot select and I'm not sure of the status of these routes.

Given that we only have 4-5 days to ride, I was thinking about heading south out of Jackson Hole toward Vegas rather than exploring north through Yellowstone. There seems to be lots of good riding to the south. Do you guys think this makes sense? I checked out the average temps along this route and it seems that they are reasonable...highs of 70 and lows of 30 for the last week of Sept. I think this will be warm enough for us to commit to our trip. We'll bring along our electric vests in any case.

 

If you get off the I-15 at the overton exit and follow it throgh town. it will take you down by the emty lake mead. go throught the vally of fire. loops back around to the moapa indian rez and back on to I-15

 

http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm worth seeing if you have the time

 

All

Here's a link to a route that I planned out using your feedback with ORJ. Let me know what you think.

http://www.openroadjourney.com/loadroute.asp?rid=4515