Have to be in Lake City, CO on the 7th, 10th, and 11th of July. Other than those days, nothing is set in stone. Have 3-4 weeks of vacation time to use. We may not make everything on this list, flexibility is the key. Kinda planning on leaving out the 28 Jun and returning around 25 July. A lot of places on the list are not very time consuming and a couple of them are nothing more than a way to get from Point A to Point B with Mapquest or Google Maps. We'll be in the Lake City/Ouray area for 6-7 days. At this point looking for MC friendly motels/cabins along the way. Going out and coming back will probably be 5-600 mile days. Others will be done in a purposeful, random pattern.

Any suggestions/recommendations on Lodging or places to add??

Thanks for looking.


States in the order of travel: IL, MO, NE, SD, WY, CO, UT, WY, ID, MT, ND or SD, IA or NE, back through MO to IL
Places we hope to see in:

South Dakota:
Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway.
Belle Fourche to Devils Tower Scenic Drive
Black Hills N.F., SD
Boulder Canyon Scenic Drive.
Bridal veil falls
Crazy Horse, 12151 Ave of the Chiefs, Crazy Horse, SD 57730
Mt. Rushmore, 13000 SD-244, Keystone, SD 57751
Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway.
Sheridan Lake Road
Spearfish Canyon Lodge
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway.
Sturgis, SD (want to stop in, check out, and roll out)
U.S. Highway 385 Scenic Drive.
Vanocker Canyon / Nemo Road Scenic Drive.

Wyoming:
Devil's Tower National Monument, WY-110, Devils Tower, WY 82714
Four Corners , Wy
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Jackson Hole, WY
Yellowstone

Colorado:
Arkansas river road
Colorado National Monument, Grand Junction, Co
Deer Creek Road
Denver to the south park basin
Glenwood Canyon
Independence Pass
Lake City, Co
Mesa Verde National Park
Million Dollar Highway
Mollie kathleen gold mine tour, 9388 CO-67, Cripple Creek, CO 80813
Ouray, Co
Peak to Peak Highway
Pikes Peak
Royal Gorge Bridge and Park
San Juan Mountain Skyway
Silverton, Co
The "High 5" to Mt. Evans, Continental Divide,
The Black Canyon Run
The Walden Loop
Trailridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park
Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Rd - CO 141
Mesa Verde National Park

Utah:
Charles Halls Ferry, UT-276, Halls Crossing, Ut 84533
Dinosaur Natl Monument, 11625 E 1500 S, Jensen, UT 84035
La Sal Mountain Loop - great views and 10 to 20 degrees cooler at the top
Mexican Hat to Bryce Canyon
Moab, Utah
Scenic 128, Moab, UT

Montana:
Beartooth Hwy, MT
Chief Joseph Hwy, MT
Choteau, Mt
Elmo, Mt
Glacier National Park, Mt
Going to the Sun, MT
Kalispell, Mt
Little Big Horn, MT
Yellowstone National Park, Mt
Lewis and Clark Museum in Great Falls, MT
Flathead Lake, MT

Idaho:
Not sure on at this time.

 

Three to four weeks is a good amount of time to see a lot. On one of my trips of 2 weeks, I was able to go from south county St. Louis to Colorado Springs then up to Estes Park on to Yellowstone/Beartooth Pass/Cody going back through Sturgis/Deadwood, all the way to Milwaukee before coming back down thorugh Chicago on to home in STL. I was doing 500ish mile days but a few days I did longer runs on. I was also mixing in camping and hotels.

On that trip I wanted to get MO and Kansas out of the way on the first day so I rode straight through 70 to Flagler, CO where I camped.

I have done some other trips between 10 days and 2 weeks where I hit some of the other sites on your list. Didn't look like you had Zion National Park on your list, it is in Southern Utah so, you may want not to go that far south but it was cool. I did it and Bryce Canyon the same day.

South Dakota:
Badlands Loop State Scenic Byway.
Belle Fourche to Devils Tower Scenic Drive
Black Hills N.F., SD
Mt. Rushmore, 13000 SD-244, Keystone, SD 57751
Sturgis, SD (want to stop in, check out, and roll out)



Wyoming:
Devil's Tower National Monument, WY-110, Devils Tower, WY 82714
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Jackson Hole, WY
Yellowstone

Colorado:
Colorado National Monument, Grand Junction, Co
Denver to the south park basin
Independence Pass
Lake City, Co
Million Dollar Highway
Ouray, Co
Peak to Peak Highway
Pikes Peak
Silverton, Co
The "High 5" to Mt. Evans, Continental Divide,
I may have done some more Colorado ones you listed but not totally for sure. I've done about 4 trips through Colorado now and sometimes I've just done random rides. Some sound familiar enough I may have did them without planning to.


Utah:
Mexican Hat to Bryce Canyon
Moab, Utah
Scenic 128, Moab, UT
Montana:
Beartooth Hwy, MT
Chief Joseph Hwy, MT
Yellowstone National Park, Mt

 

You could spend 2 weeks in the Lake City area exploring and riding San Juan Mountains and Rio Grande NF.
It is the off-road capitol of the US. Rent a jeep for a couple days and explore the back country out of Lake City: Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, Animas Forks, Engineer Pass, Imogene Pass, Yankee Boy Basin, Black Bear Pass.......
https://www.outtherecolorado.com/6-e...uan-mountains/
https://www.ouraycolorado.com/things.../famous-trails
Durango-Silverton railway trip is another day.

These are 2 of my favorite loops near Lake City. There are many more.
Word of advice Arizona an Utah are hot in late July. Head north to Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana, Glacier. Expect it to be busy that time of year

 

We had considered Zion, but figured it would be a bit out of the way with the other places. Not completely set on the Utah portion, we'll see how things go. We are meeting 3-4 other couples in Ouray. They will be there to wheel in the mountains. So, we will be riding along. Having been an off-roading person for many years, I wouldn't miss going for a ride.

Those two routes look to be included in the different roads we want to go on. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I’m not impressed with Zion. Too much traffic and no parking.
North Rim Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon are bucket list items.
Utah Hwy 89 along west side of Escalante Grand Staircase is spectacular.
Pictures if Bryce

 

Wife and I will be touring Colorado/Utah the last week of June for 10 days. Many of the things to do you have listed. Just wanted to let you know I also was planning on the Charles Hall Ferry. I went to their website and it states it's closed until further notice due to the lake being not deep enough. I was bummed. I'll keep monitoring it to see if it reopens.

Duff

 

Yes keep us posted. If I dont sell my bike this summer I too will be doing a similar road trip with the wifey. It's been raining a lot but weather just starting to get warm again so will be out riding!

 

Did not know they had a website. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

 

I've been to many (not all) of the places listed and I'd just suggest three places in Wyoming that I think are worth visiting: Aladdin (General Store), and the towns of Hullett and Sundance, all located near the Devil's Tower.
I spent a few days in this area and they have some neat local watering holes and also a lot of deer (when I was there 9 years ago) so always keep a watchful eye for wildlife.

 

If you end up coming back east from a northern area and happen to be on I90 right before crossing the Missouri River in South Dakota, I suggest stopping for a bite to eat at Al's Oasis. I had been wanting to try buffalo on one of my trips and saw their signs for it.

Stopped not knowing what to expect but there was a wait list to get in though it didn't take too long. Think a tour bus had just finished up. I was hungry and the food was excellent. I had a buffalo burger and really enjoyed it. I didn't go into any of the shops there, just stopped for the food.

http://www.alsoasis.com/