Overall Route Rating
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4 out of 5 Rider Rating 4
22 Reviews

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By Guest (0 McR Points) on Apr 30, 2009

Rider Reviews

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Guest
August 1, 2009
I live in Mineral Wells which is just to the east…
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Guest
August 12, 2009
FM4 is one of the best roads in north TX... can…
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Written Directions

We were starting from Granbury on FM 4 and went north thru Santo/Lone Camp/Palo Pinto. This section of FM 4 is mountainous(for Texas) and very twisty, a great ride! Continue FM 4 north and take a left when it runs into Route 254. Take 254 west about 6 miles and you will come to a fork in the road and want to go right and get on Hwy 16 heading northwest. After a mile you will see FM 2353 on the left - take a left there and you'll head south ... this is a ride around the east side of the lake. Don't miss the look out over the dam, its a beautiful view of the lake and the valley below that you will soon be riding in. Continue on FM 2353 until it runs into Hwy 16 where you want to take a right heading south (now back on Hwy 16) to Brad/Metcalf Gap/Strawn. Now take Hwy 108 thru Mingus and continue south on Hwy 108 to FM 1188 turn left over to Morgan Mill and pick up FM 1189 to Lipan, pick up FM 4 in Lipan and continue back into Granbury. Nice excursion for the day.

Scenery

This is the best kept secret motorcycle ride for North Texas views and lies just about 60 miles west of Dallas Ft. Worth. It has lots of mountain views from the roads, you'll drive around Possum Kingdom Lake while taking in some great lake and cliff views.

Hwy 4 heading south from Graford thru Palo Pinto & onto Santo is a really nice ride to do in the fall. There is actually some fall color, not like east Texas, but for a day excursion from the Metroplex, not bad!

Drive Enjoyment

This ride will provide you with both twisties and straight-aways. Overall these are good road and well maintained. There is plenty of room with wide with areas to pull off if needed to take a break or take in the views!

Tourism Opportunities

Lots of small towns with gas stations. Strawn has 2 nice restaurants - Mary's Cafe and a steak house across the road from Mary's, sorry but I can't remember the name. PK Lake has restaurants too, gas stations as well. There are also a couple of restaurants in Thurber just south east of Strawn on Hwy 108 & I20. Great Homemade Brownie Sundae at New York Hill Restaurant in Thurber. Which is a great topping off to the wonderful Chicken Fried Steak at Mary's in Strawn!

Motorcycle Road Additional info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .
 

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Guest
August 1, 2009
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Standard
I live in Mineral Wells which is just to the east of this area. We are about 12 miles east of Palo Pinto. These are truly good roads I get to ride them often. FM4 where it starts in Santo is litterly about 10 miles from my house and I ride it often. It's a fun road. Be careful of gravel in the corners on FM4 as the gravel trucks that run up and down it on a regular basis have a tendency to loose bits and pieces of their load while driving on it.
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7 riders found this road review useful
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Guest
August 12, 2009
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Sport - Touring
FM4 is one of the best roads in north TX... can start in Cleburne and follow it all the way to Graford but the very best part is between Santo and Palo Pinto. Stop midway at Lakeview Dr and follow up to the hill overlooking the dam/spillway for one of the coolest views in the area. Then get right back on FM4 :) Will sometimes ride there from DFW just to go up/down this section a half dozen times or more. If following this route, one variation is near Strawn - just north of town turn left (think its fm203?) and follow it through the "town" of Necessity and it eventually ends on 180 just east of Breckenridge. Very underrated road with some nice scenery, a bunch or twisties and a number of spots where you can really open it up. Almost no traffic ever on the road and very few homes/ranches either.
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2 riders found this road review useful
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Guest
July 21, 2012
0 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
Drove FTW west on HWY 180 to FM4 to HWY 254 West, to 16 North then headed south on CR2353, West on Park Road 36 to Rockin' S Bar&Grill for lunch, back to 2353 South and Stop at Observation Point, South to HWY16 to Strawn then back to FTW on I-20. Great ride, excellent roads, beautiful scenery. Well worth it.
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1 riders found this road review useful