minnesota to west coast

[jandt]

Planning on taking a couple weeks and head west this summer. Heard from others that one of the roads ya gotta ride at least once is 101/1 on the west coast.
Washington,Oregon,Idaho,Montana,South Dakota. Most likely in August. I am looking for info as to places that are a must see.. or roads that are better to ride than others. Basicly what can i expect. If you have done simular ride what did you think? Thanks

[Highwayman]

90 west, 5 south

101 after you get into CA

IF you have lots of time you can meander Wa and OR down 101

Some of it, gets torn up and you have ot slow down for a lot of podunk towns

Oh yeah wave as you go by my place

[20538]

I went through your state and did a morning route everyday. Actually used sticky notes on the inside of windshield for directions.

I crossed the Big Horn Mnts in WY and went through Ten Sleep Canyon also in WY. I also enjoyed Yosemite in Cali and too many other highlights to list here.

[Y2K]

Oh hell I know a bunch of different routes but I'll tell ya what I wouldn't miss Glacier Park in MT if the weather is good.
Screw I-90,take the back roads,you could see Teddy Roosevelt Nat Park in ND,Yellowstone and Teton in WY,North Cascades,Ranier and Mt,St.Helens here in WA and or the Columbia River Gorge.
Crater Lake in Oregon if you are anywhere near is as spectacular a place as you'll find anywhere on the planet.
There are of course the Big Horns in WY,Bear Tooth Pass from mT into Yellowstone,Lolo Pass from MT to ID.
The PAC Highway 101 is best from Northern Oregon on South,I wouldn't miss the Oregon Coast no mater what.
How much time do you have and what do you want to see?
I've been all over the West by bike and covered almost everything in OR & WA as well as NorCal,most of MT and ID and much of WY.
There are many great roads less traveled and more scenic than any of the interstate freeways,I'd be glad to help ya out with some route planning.

[FXD-Tim]

I prefer the red roads and enjoyed US 2 across the top and the Northern Cascades Hyw. in Washington. "Going to the Sun Highway" in Glacier was closed, so I have that to look forward to. The Beartooth Highway, just east of Yellowstone is on my list for my next trip. US 50 across Nevada is the "Loneliest Highway" and looks like fun. The coast highway in OR is similar to the CA coast and a definite yes. Take a look at my USA 4 Corners trip at www.fxd-tim.com.
Have fun.

[vanlente]

Go early, heats up quick. Be prepared for the unusual.

Let's see first we ran the field mouse, rabbit gauntlet; I think I won that game with 5 kills.

Next lead rider, a big bird (but not THE big bird) hit his horn and bounced into his lap. All I could see was feathers everywhere and him trying to throw this stunned but moving bird out of his lap. It was the funniest 60 seconds I've ever seen in all of my life. Then he got a hold of the bird and flipped it over his shoulder and I had to duck to miss it. Yes I still accuse him of "flipping the bird" at me.

Next came the fires. They had a massive wildfires the week we traveled through the area. Smoke everywhere and we were not sure if we'd get turned back.

Then came the worst. I've encountered one other time in my life (also on a motorcycle) similar to this. There was a stretch of about 45 minutes where the road and hills were filled with locust. If you've never seen one they look like the ugliest grasshopper you've ever seen. When I say filled I mean the entire road was 100% covered. There was two red lines that flowed through the asphalt...that was the stained lines of the car tires; the red being the blood. The smell was almost unbearable.

Last was an observation, the hills had a white material that was being mined. I think it was lime but in my mind it was brimstone. That would fulfill the biblical prophecy, fire, brimstone and locust. I guess you have to experience this once in your lifetime.

[hdwoman48]

In Washington, you need to ride Highway 20. If you're coming from the east, you hook into it from Highway 97. It is a spectacularly beautiful ride with twisties, fantastic overlooks and beautiful scenery. Any of the rides around Mt. Rainier aren't to be missed.

[HODCDR]

I live and ride 04 RK in Montana, have driven ever state you plan to travel through. Have been to all the National Parks and main sites to see through those states. In short 80K worth of sight seeing in 4 yrs. Its best to plot your key locations/sites and the route your trip through them the best you can, based on time, money and milage.

S Dakota in August is Sturgis and all roads in and out are motorcycles like ants on sugar. You can spend two weeks just hitting the high spots during that time.
Badlands NP, Deadwood, Custer State Park, etc..

Wyoming is the Northeast corner, everything else is flat, brown and ugly!! Yellowstone NP, Tetons NP, Cody, Devil's Tower, The Bear Tooth, etc...

Montana is "Gods Country" or at least motorcycle heaven because I live within All this wilderness. Glacier NP & The road to the sun, which leads into Canada and the three National Parks!!

Washington has Olympic NP, Cascade NP, Mt Baker, Mt Rainer NP, Mt St Helen, Columbia River Gorge, and allot of Hwy 101 etc...

Oregon has Hells Canyon, Carter Lake and allot of Hwy 101, etc..

So the real question is: "What are you most interest in and how much time do you want to spend doing it????

Hit me back if you would like specifics.

Now for me, I'm heading your way May 23 - Jun 6, Min-Wis-Mic, 14 days and 7,000 miles later. I can you help me??

[skydrifter]

I would hit Glacier NP in MT. and the highway to the sun is a must. then had South to Missola MT. SW to hiway 12 over Lolo Pass to Lewiston ID another must .

[jerry34208]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...25&ie=UTF8&z=8

Now when you get to "B" Hwy 20 closes in the winter but I'm guessing that when yop0u are there it will be open so just keep going West over to Interstate 5 and then go South.

That section from Coulee City (Dry Falls) over Hwy 20 (the North Cascades Highway) is one my favorites in Washington.

[sthorp]

I took a trip out West to CA this Summer, I am also in MN. Went through NE-CO-UT, there are tons of scenic roads in CO and UT plus National Parks and National Monuments, it was awesome. The upper route across MT-OR-WA is great also. With a geat big loop you could do both.