Trip Plan open for comments

[johng]

My wife and I have been planning for some time to do the following trip we plan on the trip being from the 18 Aug 07.

Arrive LA pick up bike (Goldwing) and org ourselves stay over night
Day 1 LA to Big Sur coast road
Day 2 Big sur to El portal
Day 3 touring yosmite national park
Day 4 El portal to Tonapah
Day 5 Tonapah to Cedar City
Day 6 Cedar City to Ruby Inn
Day 7 Ruby Inn to Torrey
Day 8 Torrey to Page
Day 9 Page to Grand Canyon Nth Rim
Day 10 Grand Canyon Nth rim to G/C South rim
Day 11 G/C Sth Rim to Las Vegas
Day 12 Las Vegas to LA
Day 11 Rtn Bike

Iam hoping that i have left enough room to visit attractions along the way and not doing too far in a day so as we are pushing our selves too much. What do you guys think the planning for this is well under way and would really like some feedback.
I believe we have to book some of the accomodation 12 months in advance and would expect that in the Grand canyon and yosmite what are your thoughts on the rest could we just turn up and get accom.

Thanks for the replys in advance just came across this forum first post

Regards
john,
Melbourne australia

[PNW Judy]

Greetings & Welcome to the RTA forums!

I only have time for a quick glance, but your route looks good to me. However, I'm not an expert on this area and I know others who know the area better will chime in.

Getting reservations a year ahead of time sure doesn't hurt. Just be aware of how that reservation is held and use a credit card that you won't need for other things. Some places put a temporary hold on those funds in your credit line even though you won't actually be charged the money until you stay there.

[RoadTripper 101]

Hi
I have gone cross country 6 times and have visited a few of the places on your trip. Yosemite is very crowded in the summer months so I suggest reservations in the park early on.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is absolutely awesome. There is only ONE place to stay. There is a lodge with cabins there and you should also make those reservations early due to the fact that there is no place else. The drive from the N Rim to the S Rim is approx 216 miles. It is a beautiful drive. The South Rim is much lower in elevation and also MUCH more crowded. There are many more locations to stay, but due to the number of visitors, I recommend reservatins early on. Mule rides sometimes book a year in advance, if you are interested in that. I found the north rim much more relaxing and the view from the lodge windows is something I cannot describe.

I am not sure if you know of a National Parks pass. It costs $50.00 and is good for 1 year. Most parks admission is $10.00 to $20.00 so the cost is well worth it. The Pass is good for the both of you.

Bryce Canyon and Lake Meade are also two nice areas around the North Rim. Zion is also closeby.

Diana

[RoadTripper 101]

Hi
Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP is a place not to be missed. It is a great ride into the park and the Sequoia trees cannot be described in words. You must be there to really appreciate their majesty. The parks are just north east of LA but can be added if you like on the way back. Death Valley, which I haven't yet visited, is also a place I would not miss if in the area. We were supposed to visit 2 years ago, but the park closed for about a month due to flash floods. We plan to visit this fall.

Diana

[johng]

Diana
Thank you for your reply, i have heard of the National Park pass but was not sure if it was worth it, i will now look into it further. The Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP i will look up and see if i can include it in the trip
Thanks for your reply and we are looking forward to the trip we are aiming to not do too many long days as there is so much to see
Regards
John
Australia

[Mark Sedenquist]

i have heard of the National Park pass but was not sure if it was worth it, i will now look into it further.

I use it monthly! It is the best deal in America -- for the scale of your trip, I would recommend that you get the enhanced version -- for access into all Federal preserves. Here is the basic info. But there are many more options for camping and Alice has written a good article about the choices here.

Mark

[RoadTripper 101]

John,
You are quite welcome. If you have any other questions, please ask. I hope you and your wife have a great trip to the United States.
Diana

[W. Larrison]

Arrive LA pick up bike (Goldwing) and org ourselves stay over night
Day 1 LA to Big Sur coast road

Depending upon where you pick up the bike and where you want to stay in LA, you might head slightly out of the city before stopping the first day. You might consider staying up in the Santa Monica area and then go up through Malibu along Coast 1 (PCH) towards Oxnard/ Santa Barbara.

From LA to the Big Sur Coast Road is going to be around 4-6 hours of driving, depending upon traffic and the route you take. The most scenic route (but the longest) is to go up Coast 1 through Malibu, junctioning back with 101/ Coast 1 in Oxnard, and north through Santa Barbara to either San Louis Obispo or San Simeon/ Cambria area to stay the night.

Places to visit might include
- Santa Barbara Mission (possibly the most beautiful of the old Spanish Missions in California)
- the wine country around Solvang/ San Ynez
- the Danish themed town of Solvang
- Jalama Beach (west of Solvang, south of Lompoc -- a bit off the usual track, but probably one of the most isolated public beaches south of San Fran).

Day 2 Big sur to El portal

A couple of interesting places along this could be in
- Monterey -- Steinbeck country, including Cannery Row or the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
- Gilroy, home of the US Garlic festival
- Hollister, center of a lot of Earthquake research (and one of the most studied earthquake zones in the world)
- Los Banos and Merced Wildlife Refuges (if you're into bird watching)

Just be aware that CA-140 route between Mariposa and El Portal is closed due to rock slides, and you'll probably not be able to take the most direct route to El Portal.

Just a note on the rest of this -- it may be quite warm in the desert in mid August. QUITE warm, particularly if you go into Death Valley (it was in the mid 90's when I was there this last April...) You should be prepared for triple digit temperatures, and riding in temperatures of over 110 F during the day. You might want to plan out your routes to do riding in the cool of the mornings, and spend the hot hours of the day somewhere cool. Not sure where on your routes, but something to think about.

[johng]

Thanks for the repys i will get a national parks pass.
Larrison, thanks for the info if i was to leave the city early would that get be out of the peak of traffic, is the traffic coming into the city or going out in the morn, i working on that we would be going against the traffic if we headed out earlier say 6am. We have driven up to the big sur before and stayed at deetjens (what a great place ) hence why we want to stay there again and my thinking is to enjoy the road up we have seen some of the places you have mentioned but from big sur onwards is all new ground for us. Would be intrested on your or others comments ref the Traffic we pick the bike up from Gardena and staying close by.

Thanks again for all info it is very good and have learnt more about the passes so keep the info coming

Kind Regards
John

[Mark Sedenquist]

What do you guys think the planning for this is well under way and would really like some feedback.

One of the RTA members is an accomplished motorcyclist/tour organizer who conducts bike rides all over the west. Pashnit's photos can be found on a variety of posts on this Forum. I would recommend looking at some of his suggested rides, and look at the posts on his forum because they closely match some of the areas you are intending to go.

Mark