We have decided to take our first motorcycle based road trip and wanted to get some advice from anyone that has rode or lives in Colorado. So far the plan is to fly from NJ to Denver rent a motorcycle and drive up to Pikes Peak. We would possibly spend the first evening in Denver then head out early the next day. Spend that evening in Spring Lake? Then from there we would like to drive to Ouray and spend and evening or so there before driving back to Denver to fly home. I am trying to keep this trip on as small a budget as possible because flights are rather expensive. We are looking to go sometime between September 16-27. From what I can tell online I do not believe the temps will be too cold.

Any advice for things to do or see on the way? Should we skip the stay over in Spring Lake and drive straight from Pikes Peak to Ouray?

I am assuming we will just crash at cheap hotels along the way but if anyone has any recommendations that would be great.

 

If you have time, go to the four corners and on the way back hit up Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde will take a full day in itself to ride but it's well worth it... You can stay in Pagosa Springs or Durango for hotels... From Durango which is the beginning of the "Million Dollar highway" (550) go north to Silverton and Ouray that way. It's is way more worth it that way...

You could then continue North to Delta and do the Grand Mesa ride (which is awesome)

Or head east from Montrose to ride the Black Canyon which is by far one of the best rides in the state to do. Nothing but Curves and a desolate road.

All the good riding in my opinion is in the San Juan range. If you're going up north, then highway 9 to Meeker and Craig to get you to 40 to do the steamboat springs route is good too, but nothing beats the Southwest of the state.

RMNP is good too...

 

ColoFXDC would it be better to skip Pikes Peak and drive from Denver straight to Durango? Then from there start making our way back to Denver through Ouray and Silverton? My only concern is how my wife will fair on a bike for 6 or so hours, we may be stopping a lot.....

 

If you're going to do Pikes Peak, which is also excellent. Plan a day just to do that. In that same area you can ride Garden of the Gods and do the Cave Of The Winds tour. All is within 5 miles of the PP entrance. It'll make for a fun day in itself and it won't be a huge long haul from Denver.

With the summer traffic and the time it takes to do PP, you'd be better off driving to Durango in One day. The worst Part about getting to Durango is getting to Saguage to head south through the San Louis valley (hot and windy). Wolf creek pass is awesome (I rode it in the snow!).

In my opinion, if you haven't been at 14,110' above sea level then PP would be a good ride. If it's cloudy or hazy, it's not going to be as good. Beware of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs traffic. Highway 24 gets busy...

If you're going southwest you have to do at least Mesa Verde.

If you're coming from Denver, take C470 to Santa Fe. Then take Santa Fe south (14 miles) to Sedalia. Once in Sedalia, head west on 67 for 0.5 mile and take a left to head south down 105 to monument. This time of year you'll see a ton of Motorcycles on that road (and unfortunately bicycles) but since you're heading south, it'll be a fun little side road to take. You can stop at O'Malleys or "The Depot" in Palmer lake for lunch just before you get to Monument.

 

Above is good advice.
Be prepared for freezing temps at top of Pike's Peak and any of the mountain passes above 9,000 ft. at that time of year. In fact be prepared for snow as it will be very possible. Warm to hot during the day and near freezing at night in the mountains.

 

you need to add a couple of days to your schedule. by the time you fly into denver(airport is in the middle of no where), get your luggage, catch a ride of some sort to a dealer to pick up a bike...work your way thru traffic to the west side of town and call it a day. it is a good day's ride from denver to ouray. ridgeway to telluride and down to mesa verde and on into durango will take all day. durango back to ouray is a great ride. gotta stop in silverton and get a tee shirt from the world's highest harley store, then on back to montrose and on up to I-70 for a couple of hours. next day you can make it back to the airport--get into denver early afternoon, return bike, and catch a ride out to the airport--will take all day. and yes, your wife's butt will be tired and stopping a lot kills your miles traveled. you are riding in the mountains and will not make many miles per hour in the saddle. add some days to your trip or shorten your plans.

fly into denver...get your bike...spend night in estes park. trail ridge drive/rocky mountain national park...maybe go up mount evans that afternoon. next day, do some local rides(there is beautiful scenery every where) and work your way back towards denver that afternoon. head to airport, drop rental, catch ride to airport and fly home.
this is more reasonable in the time you are allowing, and will be more enjoyable and less tiring on the wife. JMO

 

Ok, I have a lot more planning to do, thanks for the responses

 

Oh yeah... That reminds me. Bring rain gear. This time of year you are 99.99% guaranteed to get wet.

 

Check out www.motorcyclesroads.com and click on CO for a bunch of routes/roads that you'll want to check out. They all pop up with a link to full description by members who have posted the information and opinions (no, you don't have to be a member to read them). Also, if you have time and inclination, check out Steve Farson's book on the Ultimate Guide to riding Colorado. If time is short, do a "search" here on the forum for sfarson and you'll have ride reports and videos to help you focus your ride options.

Yes -- take rain and cold-weather gear if you are going above 9k feet. Weather changes often -- and quickly.

Enjoy!!

 

Just got back from a week of riding colorado. Mile high Harley is probably the closest dealer to the airport. Mt Evans is a fantastic ride and is close to Denver. After that you could take 40 east over Berthoud pass and at Granby choose Steamboat or Rocky mtn national park to Estes. That could all be done in a day. I did pikes peak $24.00 and mt Evans $10.00 and for less than half the cost we thought mt Evans was better.

Plan on riding early because the afternoon has more thunderstorms.