Motorcycle touring and cruiser tour wild west USA long option guided tour

Day 1 - Los Angeles - 0 km

Today your Wild West journey begins! Please take the shuttle bus to your Los Angeles airport hotel. There you will get to meet your fellow riders and Tour Leaders. Your guides will outline the entire tour in a formal Orientation Meeting, covering topics like safe group riding practices, weather, time-management, etc. Afterwards you have time at leisure to explore L.A.’s night life in Hollywood or Santa Monica or just get a goodnight sleep and get ready for the first day’s ride tomorrow!

Day 2 Palm Springs - 304 km

After our Welcome Breakfast the moment has come - you will get transferred to our base in Los Angeles to pick-up your bike. After an orientation we head south and west to ride the winding mountain road down to Lake Elsinore. After lunch, the cool air bathes us as we wind our way up more mountainous roads into the San Bernardino National Forest, skirting the slopes of San Jacinto Mountain. Our descent into Palm Springs is spectacular, and we will enjoy our first night on the road among the Palm Trees and night life that make up this iconic town.

Day 3 Palm Springs - Laughlin - 371

Today we take a loop through Joshua Tree National Park an extraordinary park full of bizarre desert trees and fantastic rock formations. From here we descend into Twenty-Nine Palms and drop into the vastness of the Mojave Desert. From here, your trip gets legendary appeal, as we enter Historic Route 66 in at the famous Roys in Amboy. We will stay on RT 66 for the rest of the day as we cross the desert, and the state line, into Nevada, and arrive in Laughlin, where we overnight.

Day 4 Laughlin - Grand Canyon - 392 km

We continue our ride on legendary Route 66 into Arizona, stop for wild animals in Oatman and ride further on to Kingman, which is considered to be “The heart of Historic Route 66”, as it’s situated in the middle of the longest remaining stretch of the old “Mother Road”. From Kingman you head for Seligman, another one of the longest surviving stretches of Route 66, which heads off in a northern loop through the Hualapai Indian Reservation. After our lunch stop in Seligman we continue our ride towards the majestic Grand Canyon; be prepared for one of the greatest sights man has ever seen!

Day 5 Grand Canyon - Oljato-Monument Valley - 272 km

We spend the morning at the Grand Canyon to get some fantastic views. Then we’ll cruise along the South Rim for a few miles and leave Grand Canyon National Park at the East entrance. Now it’s off to the incredible Monument Valley. This is Navajo Country here a classic Wild West landscape of stark sandstone buttes and forbidding pinnacles of rock, poking from an endless expanse of drifting red sands. Only when you arrive at Monument Valley will you come to realize how much your perception of the West has in fact been shaped by this one spot. Such scenery does exist elsewhere, of course, but nowhere is it so perfectly distilled. This evening we will be provided with the option to descend into the Valley itself and let our Navajo Guides treat us to stories of life in the heart of this spiritual wonderland.

Day 6 Oljato-Monument Valley - Bryce Canyon City - 544 km

From Kayenta we will ride up to sleepy Mexican Hat, briefly a frenzied gold-mining camp, which takes its name from a riverside sandstone hoodoo – it actually looks like a south-of-the-border sombrero. We ride on past the Valley of the Gods, where much of the movie “Thelma and Louise” was filmed, and cross the Colorado River where it pours into Lake Powell. Lake Powell has 1960 miles of shoreline, which is more than the entire Pacific Coast and 96 water-filled side canyons. We ride along the southern tip of Capitol Reef National Park, across aspen-covered peaks, along the buff-colored sandstones of the Devil’s Backbone, through the Escalante Wilderness, and finally to Bryce Canyon, where we overnight. This is a day you'll never forget!

Day 7 Bryce Canyon City - Las Vegas - 400 km

This morning there will be time to visit the amazing Bryce Canyon before we continue to Zion National Park. Besides seeing the most beautiful rock formations found anywhere on earth, you are in for a gorgeous ride here – the switchbacks of Zion! Compared to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, Zion exudes a stronger sense of nature. From Zion it is only a short ride into the neon and gambling oasis of Las Vegas. Those clients, who will end their trip in Las Vegas, will have a “Good Bye” Dinner this evening.

Day 8 Las Vegas - Las Vegas - 0 km

This day is for relaxing, gambling, exploring or whatever your heart desires. Keep in mind we will have an early start on the following day!

Day 9 Las Vegas - Mammoth Lakes - 504 km

From Las Vegas we head west and our ride will take us across Death Valley – one of the hottest places on earth! It’s almost entirely devoid of shade and its sculpted rock layers form deeply shadowed, eroded crevices at the foot of sharply silhouetted hills, their exotic mineral content turning ancient mudflats into rainbows of sunlit iridescence. After riding a series of mountain curves, you’ll arrive below sea level and find yourself right in the basin of Death Valley. From here we continue west, riding amazing roads that wind up and out of the Valley and onto the foothills of the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains. Today we will have ridden from the lowest point in the United States, over 100’ below sea level, to the ski town of Mammoth Lakes at over 7000 feet. What a day!

Day 10 Mammoth Lakes - Yosemite National Park - 240 km

Leaving Mammoth Lakes we continue our trip a little further north and then take the infamous Tioga Pass to cross Yosemite National Park. As you ride through the winding granite canyons…muscle flexing turns are rampant for the first several miles, and the road demands attention as you enter the mother of the mother of all National Parks. Yosemite conjures up thousands of images and raises expectations to dizzying heights and when you are there it is just as beautiful, wild, tame, rich, and sublime as you’d expect. We ride over to El Portal, where we overnight.

Day 11 Yosemite National Park - San Francisco - 320 km

Today we head west towards San Francisco. Leaving Yosemite National Park, we descend through California Gold Rush country. We’ll pass through small mining towns such as Groveland, before descending the winding roads of Old Priest Grade. Leaving Gold Rush country, we set our sights on the coastal regions of Marin County, an unabashed introduction to Californian self-indulgence: a pleasure zone of conspicuous luxury and abundant natural beauty, with sunshine, sandy beaches, high mountains, and thick redwood forests, often ranked the wealthiest county in the US. From here, we catch our first glimpse of this city’s most famous landmark - the Golden Gate – and traverse one of San Francisco’s great bridges to enter the city! We’ll make our way to the heart of the city where we’ll spend the next two days exploring all that San Francisco has to offer.

Day 12 San Francisco - San Francisco

This day is at leisure to enjoy the unique flavor and character of San Francisco, a funky, individualistic, and influential city, like none other in the US. San Francisco has a European flair and lots of opportunities for sight seeing. Feel free to take a city bus tour, grab a ride on a Cable Car, or stroll around North Beach, Chinatown, and Union Square. Whatever your pleasure, be sure to soak up the culture, art, architecture, and views that make up this amazing city.

Day 13 San Francisco - Monterey

Today we head south on the legendary Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) which hugs the rugged California coast of the Pacific Ocean – the beginning of one of the best motorcycle rides in the world! For the next couple of days, the coastline is simply spectacular and there are plenty of opportunities for great photo stops. Breathtaking views of the coves and inlets of the Pacific are yours en route to the seaside town of Monterey and its famous “Cannery Row.” Monterey is home to the world famous Laguna Seca Automobile and Motorcycle Racetrack and the spectacular “Aquarium of the Sea.”

Day 14 Monterey - Pismo Beach - 243 km

We continue our ride on scenic Hwy 1, along the edge of the cliffs of the Big Sur Coast – 90 wild and undeveloped miles of rocky cliffs form a sublime landscape where redwood groves line river canyons and the Santa Lucia Mountains rise out of the blue-green Pacific. You'll cross bridges situated on gorges high above the raging Pacific surf, see artichoke fields perched precariously along rocky cliffs, stop for coffee and lunch, cruise past San Simeon, stop to see the Elephant Seal Rookery, wind through Cambria and Morro Bay and finally arrive at Pismo Beach. Truly a day's great ride!

Day 15 Pismo Beach - Los Angeles - 360 km

Today we take Hwy 101 and head towards Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean to our right, and the coastal mountains to our left. We begin our ride passing through the vineyards that make up so many great California wines! After a stop for a coffee, we get back on Hwy 101 and cruise through Santa Barbara and hug the coastline straight into Malibu, the infamous beach colony. Santa Monica is LA’s oldest and biggest resort – once a wild beachfront playground, it’s now a self-consciously liberal and healthy community. From here we will ride over to Hawthorne, where our headquarters are located. Now it’s time to return your motorcycles and transfer back to our hotel to get ready for a recap of this great adventure at our "Good-bye" dinner.

Day 16 Los Angeles - Los Angeles - 0 km

Departure. Today your exciting trip will conclude in Los Angeles. Please be sure to let us know if you need an extra night or two in L.A. to enjoy the sights. We can even arrange a discounted motorcycle rental! Please take the hotel shuttle and transfer to Los Angeles International Airport. See you next year!