Sometimes it’s about the destination, sometimes it’s about the ride, and sometimes it’s a combination of the two. In this series we’ll highlight five great geofenced locations that a truly worth a visit, how you get there is up to you.
1) Iceberg Pass/Fall River Pass/Milner Pass: Trail Ridge Road, Estes Park, CO
Description: Trail Ridge Road in Colorado National Park, also known as U.S. Highway 34, runs between Estes Park and Grand Lake. The road is the highest paved through road in Colorado and summits at 12,095 feet above sea level. These POIs are a part of the Honda Pass Bagger Challenge in REVER (so join the challenge and starting getting credit on the leaderboard). Because there are three passes in close proximity to each other, think of this as a three-for-one special. But what is really special, are the views through Rocky Mountain Park. Note: you will need to pay a park entrance fee.
2) Tioga Pass: Tioga Pass Road, Yosemite National Park, CA
Description: Tioga Pass Road through Yosemite is an amazing ride. Timing can be critical on many fronts. In the middle of peak season at peak hours, traffic can be a nightmare. Hit it right however, say, early morning in the off season, and it’s an amazing experience. Along the way you’ll pass Ellery, Tioga, and Tenaya Lakes, and pass the amazing Tuolumne Meadows. You will have to pay the entrance fee to the park, but it’s well worth it. Make sure you fill up with fuel in Lee Vining as fuel is sparse along the pass (and in the off season you’ll have to make it all the way to Yosemite Valley). In Lee Vining get gas at the Mobile just east of 395, so that you can eat at the ridiculously good Whoa Nellie Deli inside.
3) Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine
Description: Acadia is another amazing National Park in terms of scenery. Therefore it’s also on the radar of what seems like every northeasterner. Crowds during peak season can be dense on the roads, all trying to find parking to hike, walk and take photos. Like most National Parks, summer is best to be avoided. The best times of year to visit are the Spring and Fall before/after kids get out of school and the family trucksters invade. There is plenty of exploring outside of the park itself on Mount Desert Island (the largest off the coast of Maine). There are some really cool lighthouses, and scenic vistas on the island, so be prepared to get out your phone and snap some photos.
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4) Denali National Park, AK
Description: This is a prime case of the journey possibly upstaging the destination. Unless you choose to fly into Alaska and rent or take a tour from a motorcycle outfitter like MotoQuest, or Edelweiss Bike Travel, the trip to get there is going to be an epic adventure. From Seattle, WA, your talking about 2300 miles through some remote territory. So, unless you’ve got the time of Ewan McGregor And Charley Boorman on your hands, flying in and renting doesn’t sound so bad. No matter how you slice it, AK is ideal for Adventure motorcycles, with long distances, a lot of gravel roads, and plenty of weather thrown in for good measure. If your lucky you even get to see the parks namesake mountain (which can be completely obscured by cloud cover!).
5) Buck Creek Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway/Buck Creek Rd., SC
Description: The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is one of America’s finest motorcycling roads. Sure, it has its positives (great scenery) and negatives (traffic and low speed limits), but there is no denying what a quality destination it is. But there are also hundreds of great tributary roads that feed into BRP, like Buck Creek Road west of Lake Tahoma. It’s at this intersection of awesome twisty roads that we have a POI placed for the Honda Pass Bagger Challenge. As long as you are in the vicinity, it would be a crime to not seek out the Tail of the Dragon, and Claw of the Dragon routes just north in Virginia.
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