What are the Best Motorcycle Rides in the West?
(Updated to help you plan for the 2024 Motorcycle Riding Season!)
Report based on a full-year of the 2023 riding season's data of the best motorcycle roads in the Midwest region of the United States
To produce this report, we looked back at the entire 2020 motorcycle riding season’s data gathered by the MotorcycleRoads.com (McR) web site. This data comes in from the literally millions and millions of page views accessed on McR over the course of a year by various motorcycle riders (over 1 million riders visit motorcycle roads annually). If you are curious as to the details of how the popularity ratings are calculated, see Note 2 at the bottom of this article. Also, we used the US Census Bureau’s definition of the Western region which includes the following states: California, Colorado, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Oregon, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii.
Let's start out by looking at the number of registered motorcycle roads that the US West region. And, in 2023 the total rose strongly up to 546 which places the West region in second as the region with most number of motorcycle roads; second only to the South with its massive 760 total (see the illustration below)!
And, different states in the West have different totals with the largest number being, not surprisingly, in the largest state - California with 138 registered motorcycle routes and Colorado coming in at second with a distant 81. Not surprisingly either (to me at least), is the fact that Hawaii and Alaska are at the bottom of the list. Considering those states have some of the best scenic beauty in the USA, you might think they would have more great motorcycle roads registered. I believe this is a product of those states being lower populations than the average state and for some reason, motorcycle riders in Alaska and Hawaii just haven't gotten on board with the whole sharing of motorcycle road information/recommendations. If you're a rider in one of those states, and you can turn that around and submit some of your favorites, the riders in those states and me, your humble MCR editor/webmaster/bill-payer, etc., would certainly appreciate that! Setting that aside that issue, the West certainly has a great number of registered motorcycle roads and to see the state-by-state total, refer to the graphic below:
Summary of this year’s Top 10 motorcycle rides in the West rankings:
Moving on from the discussion of quantity of motorcycle rides in the US West and on to the topic of motorcycle ride quality in the US West, reveals some interesting trends. What really makes the Western region stand out among the other three US regions (the Midwest, Northeast, South) is the fact the West is the region with the most evenly spread out Top 10 motorcycle rides. You see each of the other three regions had one state that dominates its region's Top 10 list. In the US Northeast Pennsylvania regularly dominates, in the Midwest it is Ohio, and in the South it is North Carolina that lead the pack year after year. But in the US West, the competition is much more even. And the sharing of routes in the Top 10 this year only became more pronounced as for the first time since this list of the Top 10 motorcycle rides of the US West was created, we have a 4-way tie between four great western states for having the most routes in the Top 10: in alphabetical order - California, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. This is a real shake up from years past when California and Colorado used to dominate the Top 10 list.
The US West states that did not have any of their routes make the Top 10 list are as follows (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oregon. If you are a motorcycle rider in one of those Western states, please don't send me hate email expressing how wrong this is because of some great motorcycle rides in your state. I always use an automated scoring mechanism to avoid any bias in the system and so basically the numbers/votes/etc all come from the million plus motorcycle riders who visit the site each year and essentially 'cast their votes.' Also, if there are great motorcycle rides in your state (and I'm SURE there are as I have lived in many, many, different parts of the US and found wonderful motorcycle rides wherever I've been and that is essentially the reason I started this site back 20 plus years ago) that you feel are not rated highly enough, please "vote for them" by adding a Rider Review (click on the "Write a Review" link on any route description page), upload pictures, videos, add it to your "Rode It" list, and other actions that show enthusiasm for a given route. Also, if you see that a great route in your state is not registered on McR, then add that motorcycle road to the collection and let other riders learn about it, comment on it, rate it, add photos, videos, etc. and it WILL CLIMB in the rankings!
Setting the discussion of how many Western states have rides in the Top 10 and on to where those great motorcycle rides are, the below illustration shows you where those routes are and what their rank is, 1-10.
So, with all that summary information behind us, let’s jump right in and tell you about this great list of Top 10 Best Motorcycle Rides in the West starting with #10 and working our way to #1.
#10 The Going to the Sun Road (Montana motorcycle ride)
Fall three places in this year's Top 10 list from #7 to #10 is one of the most beautiful rides in all of the world and as a motorcycle rider that has taken this Montana motorcycle rides many time, truly believe the only reason this road isn't always in the Top 10 and ranked higher in the list than it is, is simply because of its remote location in north-northwestern Montana Additionally, as someone who has personally rode this a number of times, I will say that if you travel it on a weekend, the car traffic can be a bit suffocating and take away from the enjoyment as you seem to be at times watching more of the car in front of you than taking in the great curves and scenery. This road is the famous Going to the Sun road and the author who registered this motorcycle ride described it as "the MT Everest of continental US motorcycle-rides." This wonderful Montana motorcycle ride is tucked up inside of the Glacier National Park and due to its latitude, is not quite drivable year round as snow is often seen as late as July and can start return in Sep. For these reasons it just doesn't see that much traffic and so there is not much "word of mouth" singing its praises and so many motorcycle riders simply never hear of it or much less, actually get to travel its 50 awesome miles. Their are great lodges to stay in within the park and you'll find mountain goats and rams along some of the roads and pull over spots.
#9 The Lolo Pass (Idaho & Montana motorcycle ride)
Also slipping a few spots since the last listing (from #6 now at #9) is another Montana route that in this case is shared with its neighbor to the west, Idaho. This motorcycle ride basically cuts across the entire middle of Idaho and into Montana passing over Lolo Pass in the process. This route has the added bonus for the fact that you'll be traveling along a portion of the Lewis & Clark Trail and in the process, seeing some of the same incredible landscapes that these early western explorers observed! Additionally the route can be pretty intense as there is a section of road that is marked with a pretty inspiring (or frightening for some) sign that warns (promises!!) "Winding road next 99 miles." And, just like a lot of these wonderful Rocky Mountain roads that deliver wonderful curves, incredible scenery, and minimal traffic, this one can also suffer from scarce gas and food options along the way so be prepared particularly you riders out there with the 'peanut' gas tanks ... it can be a long, long, walk to the next town with a gas station!! The route is currently rated #1 of all motorcycle rides in Idaho and #2 of all motorcycle rides in Montana.
#8 Highway 20 Washington Pass (Washington motorcycle ride)
Last year this beautiful motorcycle ride in north-central Washington state was at the 8th position but this year it fell a bit to the 10th spot. If the next route was any further North, it would be a Canadian motorcycle ride. This approximate 100-mile ride along Highway 20 and over the Washington Pass is in a pretty remote section of Washington state East of Seattle and West of Spokane and is currently ranked #1 of all motorcycle rides in Washington. The remote location will obviously contribute to its pristine nature of the scenic beauty of this ride as the route's author commented on the beauty of its "old growth forests" and its abundant wildlife. Additionally the remote location will also almost assure that traffic will not be an issue too. However, the remote location also results in a route that you will need to pay particular attention to planning details as you gas, food, & lodging options are as expected few and far between. And, considering the far Northern latitude of this route and the high elevations of many of its roads, cold and/or hazardous road conditions can come into play particularly in the late spring or early fall so plan accordingly.
#7 The Walden Loop (Colorado motorcycle ride)
Jumping up a few spots this year from #9 to #7 is a motorcycle in my home state of Colorado that is just west and north of Denver Colorado and runs in a loop that eventually dumps you out near the town of Ft Collin's Colorado and is called the Walden Loop. This is a great great motorcycle ride & loop starts out in Denver (technically in the Loveland Colorado area) and you head west, and quickly enter into the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and will have you inspired by the incredible mountain beauty and is near this major metropolitan area. It continues to head west and eventual swings southwest and then swings heading directly north and eventually turns east and brings you out of the eastern slopes and drops you off conveniently in Ft Collin's Colorado. Ft Collin's is a great college town with outstanding restaurants and a nice University to drive through (Colorado State University) At the time of this publication, this route was rated #2 of all motorcycle rides in Colorado. It is a relatively long drive at over 200-miles but assuming you follow the loop and start/stop in Fort Collins, CO and start/stop in Loveland, CO, you'll have tons of options for lodging if you decide to stay the night. You'll cross the continental divide twice, dive down into valleys and work you way through canyons latter climbing up to timberlines among the mountains.
#6 California Route 36 AKA Twisty Road Next 140 Miles! (California motorcycle ride)
At number 6 is a perennial favorite of twisty lovers all around the world and aptly named - "Twisty Road Next 140 Miles!" This route is in a section of mountains in California referred to as the Coast Ranges. The official name of the Route is CA route 36 and it stars/stops in Red Bluff, CA and rides West to Eureka, CA (basically the furthest point West in the state of California). This route is about as intense as it can get and the government tries to warn you and everyone else of what they are getting into if they try it as there is a sign posted at the start that warns - Twisty Road next 140 miles! I was interviewed on The Weather Channel a few years ago on this famous route and it is currently ranked #1 of all motorcycle rides in California and the author summarizes the route well when he says "most likely the craziest elevation changes you will ever see (in the eastern portion from red bluff ,CA ) ... truly resembles a roller-coaster in spots ... this road is 140 miles of twisty heaven!" And, if you get on McR and read through some of the reviews you'll see that this route very literally attracts riders from all of the USA and the world!! The scenery is also as intense and extreme as the curves and elevation changes as you start out (this is all if you start on the eastern end and work your way west) winding your way up, down, around, and over arid mountains and eventually dropping down into lush and green red wood forests that look like they are something out a Jurassic Park movie and then eventually drop down onto the Pacific coast with its amazing deep blues. Walt Disney couldn't have dreamed better scenery for an epic motorcycle ride!
#5 The Pacific Coast Highway - Highway 1 (California motorcycle ride)
Another route that I have personally been on multiple times is the classic coastal drive known around the world and may be the most famous scenic drive in the world - the Pacific Coast Highway (CA Highway 1). This great American scenic drive rose up three spots this year from the 8th slot to the 5th. It is a classic ocean coastal drives, the Pacific Coast Highway (aka simply 'PCH') is potentially the most famous in the world and has been drawing in riders from across the globe for many decades. Not only will this route provide the rider with amazing scenery but it also place them on relatively uncrowded roads considering the scenery and the notoriety of the drive. This wonderful ride is also now the #1 most popular motorcycle rides in California and it really has some great stops along the way for small things like grabbing a bite to eat or taking in some of the beautiful Pacific coast scenery but also some really great tourist accommodations like hotels, B&Bs, well kept Spanish Missions available for touring, the famous and incredible Hearst Castle, and obviously plenty to do at the major cities that anchor the North and South ends of this California motorcycle ride (San Francisco and LA).
#4 Coronado Trail (Arizona motorcycle ride)
The Coronado Trail was not only the most popular motorcycle ride in all of Arizona last year, but the 4th most popular in all of the US West. I have a special place in my heart for this route because of my background. If by chance you know a little about that background, you may know I joined the Air Force and went to basic training 7 days after I graduated high school and after bootcamp, this Indiana boy's first assignment was at Luke AFB, just west of Phoenix, AZ. You can imagine the change in my world going from woods and cornfields of Indiana to the desert area of central Arizona. It was there that I bought my first street bike and started riding on my own through different regions of Arizona. For an 18-year-old Indiana kid, riding through the US southwest literally felt like I was in an entirely different world. When you are a kid and you don't really know much more than what you hear from folks or see on TV, I expected Arizona to look like the Sahara desert or a scene out of an cartoon desert with those classic tall cactus with the vultures perched on top (later I learned those classic cactus are called Saguaro cactus). No don't get me wrong, Arizona certainly has those sections to it but it has so so much more scenery to offer that is both wonderful and unique among the US. So after I started this website, I waited in disappointment for a long time as Arizona roads were slowly (for some reason I still don't understand) added to the collection and slowly climbed up their ways in the ratings. It was just recently when finally a great Arizona motorcycle ride, the Coronado Trail, finally fought its way to a prominent position like this year! The Coronado Trail is found along the eastern border of Arizona and takes riders through a variety of diverse Arizona scenery and through historical locations. This is currently ranked #1 of all motorcycle rides in Arizona.
#3 Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (Wyoming motorcycle ride)
Finding its way into the venerable Top 3 is the first Wyoming route of the Top 10, and the #2 of all motorcycle rides in Wyoming, and a route that takes you for approximately 200-miles of riding through northern Wyoming and not far from the MT/WY border and called the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. It is a very intense ride as you spend much of your time either navigating mountain top roads, or climbing up to them or dive down away from them. At the time of publication, this route was rated. Like many of the rides in the Rockies, this one is particularly remote and you definitely have to plan your gas, food, and lodging steps along the way. However the route has a particularly great added bonus and that is it basically is going to bring you to the door step of the #1 motorcycle road in all of the west - Beartooth Pass (described below). Combining these two motorcycle rides into one trip and throwing in a trip to the incredible Yellowstone National Park which these rides essentially take you too, could make for the motorcycle trip of a lifetime!!
#2 San Juan Mountain Skyway (Colorado motorcycle ride)
Jumping up 1 spot this year and settling in at the #2 position and my favorite motorcycle road in all of Colorado, we find the San Juan Mountain Skyway! This route is located in the southwest corner of Colorado and takes you through a series of restored mining towns and over mountain passes that will amaze you. There is one particularly both famous and perhaps dangerous section of switchbacks and twisties that is referred to as the Million Dollar Highway. At the time of this publication, this route was ranked #1 of all motorcycle rides in Colorado. I happened to have been interviewed on the Weather Channel about this route and so if you'd like to see those short interviews - interview 1, interview 2. Other than the beautiful scenery and great Colorado twisties this route also 'hits it out of the park' when it comes to tourism opportunities as you will have great little restored mining towns spread out along the way and they all have a nice collection of places to eat, sleep, and shop. Durango, CO is the biggest of the towns you'll pass through and it is a great place to either set up for the drive and/or end your drive with a stay as this route is in a pretty remote corner of the state and it will take you a while to get to it unless you happen to live in this area. Telluride,CO is another great stop along the way as it has a really cool old mountain town feel mixed in with some high end hotels and restaurants and plenty of art & craft shops to browse. And, finally Ouray, CO is another restored mining town that is a great stop to stretch your legs and take in the feel of walking through a historic mining town in the old west. I also posted an unedited video I took from a GoPro on this route a few years ago.
#1 Beartooth Pass (Montana/Wyoming motorcycle ride)
The mighty Beartooth Pass motorcycle ride has been a dominant Western motorcycle road for about as long as I've been creating these Top 10 listings (the first was in 2013). As mentioned above in the description of the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway route, this route takes riders through about some of the most extreme Rocky Mountain terrain you can find anywhere in the lower 48 states. The pictures posted on McR will give you just a glimpse of how much of a stunning scenic ride this will be and the pictures can't nearly relay the intensity of the driving itself will be. Multiple riders describe the sheer cliffs, the harrowing switch backs, and the sometimes tunnels of plowed snow that you travel through (often times leading to trickling trails of water that can freeze if sitting in shadows and/or when temperatures dip as they are known to do). If you take this route early in the spring or late in the fall you have to CHECK weather and travel conditions before committing to your trip! Lastly, as also mentioned above in the Chief Joseph route description, a motorcycle rider would be greatly remiss if you didn't work this ride into a trip to Yellowstone National Park as this ride essentially drops you off at the park's doorstep. The rugged and awesome and inspiring Rocky Mountain scenery, combined with the intense curves and elevation changes, along with access to a world class national park, are all reasons contributing to this route not only being rated #1 of all Montana motorcycle rides and the #1 Wyoming motorcycle ride but also considered the best motorcycle ride in the US West!
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Note 1: All facts and figures below were gathered during early Jan 2020 and will change over time as new motorcycle roads are added to the collection.
Note 2: How were these popularity ratings calculated?
A motorcycle road’s popularity can be based on a wide variety of factors. Our analysis considered some obvious indicators of motorcycle road popularity such each roads’ “Rider Rating” scores (star ratings) and which motorcycle road description pages were visited the most. But, the analysis dug deeper and looked at some less obvious yet valuable indicators of a motorcycle road’s popularity such as how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “To Ride” lists, how often a given motorcycle road was added to riders’ “Rode it” lists and enthusiasm indicators such how often photos and/or videos were uploaded for a given road and which roads are attracting the most buzz among motorcycle roads indicated by those roads that are receiving the most number of new/recent comments. For the sake of being consistent and as objective as possible we use a popularity algorithm that “crunches those number” and allows us to develop a ranking of the popularity of each of the motorcycle roads used as a basis for this guide.
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As always, I hope to provide you with insightful & valuable motorcycle riding community information to help you get the most out of all of your motorcycling experiences. I'm always looking for ways to make MotorcycleRoads.com better and more helpful so if you have any suggestions to improve the website, just contact me through the Feedback button you'll find near the top of every page. And as always, if you have a favorite motorcycle road of yours that is not yet registered on MotorcycleRoads.com, please get that favorite of yours "on the map" by registering it at MotorcycleRoads.com. Registering a motorcycle road (or event, or club, or place) is quick and easy and you'll be helping out our motorcycle riding community!!! Lastly, if you are interested in having a monthly summary of motorcycle riding community updates/new information sent straight to your email box, sign up for our monthly (or less) eNewsletter. Or, if you are into social media, follow me at Facebook and/or Twitter.  |
