going west from colorado

I am getting myself started planning a motorcycle trip with 3 other couples to go from colorado springs to grand canyon to hoover dam. would love some input on other things to see on the way. we are going to take 10 days. two of us have been through the area but did not get to see nearly as much as we would have liked too. interested in places to stay near the south rim of the grand canyon. we are not leaving for this trip until next year around this time. or should we plan for a later date due to riding in inclement weather in the area?

June is typically a dryer month than is July or August -- these latter are the more typical summer rainy season in the southwestern mountains, and you'll get a rain shower almost every afternoon.

From Co Spgs, head west and see Black Canyon, then drive around the San Juans -- loop around and hit as many of these roads as you can. The route from South Fork to Lake City is great, the Million Dollar Highway (US550 from Ridgeway to Durango), also the route from Cortez through Dolores and Telluride to Ridgeway. Don't forget to see Mesa Verde NP. You might also head south into NM and see Chaco Canyon. US160 is a classic route -- over Wolf Creek Pass and through Pagosa Springs. These roads are made for motorcycles. If you like trains, you could ride the steam at Chama or at Durango.

Include Monument Valley, then go north toward Hanksville before heading west on SR24 and SR12 down to Bryce and Zion, then into Arizona through Kanab and see the North Rim, then loop around past Lee's Ferry to get to the South Rim, before heading out SR64 to Williams, AZ and on to Las Vegas. Or, you could loop down from Flagstaff at this point and see Sedona, Jerome and Prescott, before getting back onto I-40 at Ash Fork. Finally, be sure to ride old 66 from Seligman to Oatman, AZ. Las Vegas is a quick trip up US95 from just west of Laughlin.

At the South Rim, you could try for Maswik Lodge in the Park, the price there is economical. Tusayan has several lodges, but they are probably as expensive as the Park Lodges (which I recommend, by the way). If you want cheap, then drive the additional 70+ miles down to Flagstaff and you can find rooms there for around $30 most days.

Last, there's a great motorcycles-in-the-southwest guide (reviewed by Mark a couple years back) that might give you some additional ideas. Check it out here.

We have an entire section here on the RTA pages devoted to motorcycle touring -- take a look!

Bob