I'm planning a trip from portland oregon next summer to idaho, then down 93 into Utah. i plan on taking 93 from twin falls idaho to cave lake state park Nevada, then US 50 to Gobblin State park UT, then 191 to Mohab, then 95 to natural bridges state park UT, then 261 to monument state park UT, then 163/160/98/89a to vermillion cliffs state park, then 89/9 to zion national state park... from there i'm considering taking 375 to reno, and then back up thru central oregon...
am i missing anything in Utah that i should see, any suggestions on routes thru Nevada? overall i think the trip will be 3100 to 3400 miles, and i have 7 or 8 days to do it... plan on camping most of the way with a couple of nights in hotels...

 

Good choice on Goblin Valley. I recommend it all the time and nobody ever seems to have heard of it. Until that stupid boy scout leader pushed the rock over last summer.

If you have any interest in Indian ruins look into Hovenweep National Monument to the east of Blanding on 262. Very cool cliff dwellings you can walk all around. Zero tourist traffic last time I was there. It's really off the beaten path. If you do that ride watch out around the Hatch Trading post. The Indian horses walk around loose. That's not something you want to smack into.

The map will show dirt road to the Colorado side of Hovenweep but it's all paved coming in from the Blanding area.

Valley of the Gods off 261 is dirt but worth looking into. (depending on weather) While in Moab, do the La Sal Mountain loop. Moab is a cool town to stay and play in. I've done 7 days just in Moab. Nice camping along the Colorado just north of town.

 

For the length of time you have to play in, that's an excellent route. I really like Zion, but you
may want to also allow time in Bryce. My wife and I took great horse / mule rides in both parks
and I have to admit that Bryce was by far the more spectacular and easier to get around in.
Zion uses a shuttle bus system with no private vehicles allowed in the main park area except
to and from the Lodge for those staying there. It works very well, but it is time-consuming and
may affect how much time you can spend actually touring. FWIW, almost everything in Zion
except the main canyon itself requires a hike or pack ride to get to.

Last July 1st I was driving to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to go camping and 109 degrees
registered on the dash thermometer as we crossed the 89A bridge at the top end of the Vermillion
Cliffs..

Just a friendly caution..

 

Buzzard, thanks for the advice. i will definitely add Hovenweep National Monumen to the trip.. my wifes side of the family, and my sisters husband are native american... i will probably skip valley of the gods due to the dirt roads, will be on a flhtk, if i was taking my bmw it would be a different story... the La Sal Mountain loop looks like a nice ride with some good photo op's... will add that to my list...

Mike, I will take your advice about Zion national park, might just skip it this trip... I will plan on spending more time in Bryce... was looking at the NPS website, looks like there are a lot more riding opportunities there... I will be prepared for the heat, thats why i think i will do the trip earlier in the summer, but i might have to cross of part of my idaho ride if its too early, there is snow in Stanley ID frequently in June... i was there once on 1st of july and woke up with frost on my tent...

hope to do the ride with a couple of friends, but if they can't make it will do it by my self.. typically take a 3 to 5 thousand mile trip each summer, but spent last summer getting radiation treatments after surgery in February, and missed my summer trip... damn cancer... want to make up for it this summer and get used to the new bike, in preparation for doing a four corners ride of the US in 2015...

 

WOW!!! That is a lot of miles and areas to cover in 7 or 8 days. Most of the places you listed you could easily spend several days at and still not see everything.

Arches and Bryce NPs are two of our favorite National Parks. You should plan on spending some time riding through them. The scenery is spectacular. Moab is a cool little town.

Monument Valley is really neat. Plan on taking one of the Native American tours through the valley as the commentary and scenery is something to be experienced.

Mike.

 

I also live in Portland and did nearly the same exact trip last summer. I did Portland to Twin Falls, down to Ely. From there, only stay on US50 till the stateline. Take Utah 487 southeast to Utah 21 which will take you to Beaver. Beaver is only a little south of I70/US50. If you follow US50 from Ely, once you get to the Utah stateline, it is a long dull ride across a salt flat and it goes northeast. It adds an extra 90 minutes to the ride.

Being as close as you are, I do recommend (of course) the route I took. From Beaver, I took Utah 20 to Panquitch which is the west entrance to Zion Park. It is the west end of Utah 12, one of the best rides I have been on. It goes by all the major parks and the scenery is fantastic. It takes you to Torrey UT. From there, you head east on UT 24 which heads north eventually. Goblin Valley is on Ut24 about 20 miles south of I 70. When you hit I 70, you head east for 30 miles when you come to US 191, which goez south to Moab. From Moab, you can head south to Monument Valley but it a long way and you have back track.

As for time, you will have plenty. I did Portland to Boise, Ely night two, Panquitch nite 3, Torrey nite 4, Moab for 4 nites and went home via US191/6 to Provo and I84 back home. I camped the whole time. I recommend the KOA in Ely instead of Cave Lake. Also the road in Goblin is not paved but it was okay for my loaded RK.

 

You have a very aggressive agenda. It took me a full day to go from Moab to Kayenta, AZ via Arches, Natural Bridges, Moki Dugway, Goosenecks SP and Monument Valley. We had to bypass Canyonlands Island in the Sky, which was a real disappointment as it's one of my favorites. I've also done Zion and Bryce in one day, and recommend both since they are so close to each other. You are also going right by Wheeler Peak in Nevada, which I thought was worth the trek. While you are on 261 you will go down Moki Dugway, which gives you a great view of Valley of the Gods. Will be a great trip, hope you post a ride report with lots of pictures.

 

zmotorsports i realize its a lot of miles in a few days. because of my job, I am typicaly awake at 3am ( just cant sleep in), so my typical road trip day starts early, stop for breakfast, and i am at my first destination by the time it opens. I typically do 500 to 600 mile days, and have done 900 when necessary. thats on my BMW doing some dirt, its not nearly as comfortable as the FLHTK, so it shouldn't be a problem. i'm thinking 2 days to get to Bly, and 2 days ride home thru Nevada, california & Oregon, spending as many days in the Utah area as i can, at least four & maybe 6. If i end up doing this one by myself, i will try and stretch it to 10 days... problem is that the friends I would be riding with, probably would be limited to 7 to 8 days... i have lots of vacation, over 6 weeks a year, ( need to spend some of it with the wife ), but the problem is getting more than 10 days off at a time.

 

Dblass, thanks for the advice, i will try and incorporate those suggestions into my trip. what time of the summer did you take go? how was the weather/heat?

 

We are going to do Southern Utah in early June. I have rethought the trip we were planning that included Southern Arizona. Looks like we will depart Albuquerque to Durango, Silverton and spend first night in Ouray, CO. Day two will take us to Telluride, Co to Blanding, Utah via CO145 and US491. From there we will take 95 to Hanksville then 12 to Escalante/ Bryce Canyon area. Hit Panguitch before heading back south via 89 to Page, Az then on to Kayenta and Mexican Hat for the Monument Valley. From there we will head over to Four Corners before making our way back home through the Jemez Mountains.

I don't want to be too rigid in our planning as I want to be flexible for sight seeing and weather. We will have about eight days. Could do it in six, seven or eight. We will be moteling it but I think we should be able to do it on the fly for the most part. So far only the first two days are hard planned but weather could change everything. No matter, it should be a fun trip!