Tucson, AZ to Seattle, WA road trip in 7 days

[po1368]

Hi,
I am planning on going from Tucson to Seattle in 7 days with motorcycle.
I am going to be with a passenger and we both want to use this opportunity and see as many attractions as possible.
Route, miles and states do not matter as long as we see the "must sees" and as many sites as possible in this time frame.
Please advice.
Thanks

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

No one else can really plot your trip for you. Especially if you want it to uniquely reflect your own tastes and what you (not anyone else) consider a "must see". What we can do is give you a little bit of very general advice up front: Get a good map/atlas and start marking the places between you and your destination that you'd really like to include on your trip. Start with maybe a half dozen or less sites that you would really regret not including. Connect those dots and start looking for other worthwhile venues and scenic roads (usually marked by a dashed line on the map) that are on the way. Limit the number of miles you plan to drive each day so that you actually have some time to enjoy not only the ride but all the places you'll be passing by. For a motorcycle trip, I would think that a 400 mile day would be about the maximum. Less if you plan to make a major stop. Don't overload the trip either way, with too many miles or too many stops. You're going to need about four days in aggregate of riding to get there, so you only have about three days worth of time to devote to whatever set of attractions you choose.

Once you have put together a basic plan that meets the above criteria, we can be of much more use by offering suggestions for things that fit your style and are along your route, or trimming back if needed, or pointing out timing or routing issues.

AZBuck

[Midwest Michael]

Much like the last time you started a thread, we're left with more questions than answers.

This site does not believe in must sees, because that completely depends upon you and your interests, and you've told us nothing about what kinds of things you might be interested in. What places area already on your personal must see list?

Also, is this a one way trip, or a round trip? If its a one way trip, you've got lots and lots of time available to see things, but if this is a round trip, then you could have some problems. In a car, it is a full 3 days drive each way. On a motorcycle, you're probably not going to want to be riding for 10 hours a day, every day for a week, and that's really what you are looking at. Even if you did, that doesn't much time at all for the siteseeing you want to do.

[po1368]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice.
I am going to give more info so that might help.
It is one way trip.
I have done some research to find places that are "must sees" for me and here are some of them:
Grand Canyon, monument valley, Saguaro National Park, Kartchner Caverns State Park
make a one day loop for Canyon de Chelly, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest.
My interest is more towards scenic roads and sites and nature in general.

After Arizona I could either head towards 1)California and Oregon or 2) Utah and Idaho.
Which one route has more to see?
Weather, and road condition since I am riding a motorcycle is also a consideration.
Thanks again for your help

[Midwest Michael]

There's a ton to see both ways, but based on what you've listed so far, I'd say that going up through Utah is probably going to be your best bet. Going back to California will simply add too many miles. Via Utah, You could go up the western edge, past Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, Arches, and Capitol Reef, or you could go a little more east and up through Zion and Bryce.

However, you are going to have to be careful with your time with all of that. The things you've already listed are going to take up a minimum of 3 and likely 4 days, and that's if you just scratch the surface. All that, and you won't have left Arizona yet! You'll still have a good 2-3 full days of driving, plus sightseeing ahead to get to Seattle.