So cal to salt lake

Hi all, I am going from Ontario, CA to Salt Lake City over memorial weekend I am leaving Thursday around noon and need to be in SLC Friday night. Question is what are some good roads to take, what should I avoid? I am thinking I would like to be mostly on paved roads due to the miles per day. I would also like to stay of the interstates as much as possible. Any good places to eat along the way? Thanks, Jeff

Easy Peazy....

Vegas area-Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire.

UT-Cedar Breaks, Zion, Bryce, Hwy 12, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches.

Watch the heat, stay hydrated with sport drinks & water. Keep the skin exposure to a minimum.

Have a great time in some great country!

To do it in a day and a half....with no dark riding......

Blast up 15 to 395

Blast up 395 to Bishop (Elm Street motel option)......that's about five hours gone right there with Pit Stops. Thursday night (9 hours lay over with breakfast)? Your're gonna need an EARLY start...big ride day Friday.

@ Bishop 6 north to Ely (motel, Four Jacks?) (five hours ride add one hour for Pit Stops)

@ Ely 93 north to then 93alt to Wendover (Casino/motel option) (2 hours ride, plus one hour Pit Stop)

Quick visit to Bonneville Salt Flats via 80

80 east to SLC (2 hours ride )

13 hours actual riding time, stop for gas, pee, food, sleep add 12 hours...so 25 hours total......don't dawdle and be sure to leave at noon on Thursday!

Other than straight up 15,I like Tucker's route,been on all of it and its really quiet,just don't let the serenity fool you the cops are bored out there and do write tickets,but ya what he said.

What kinda bike??

Yeah north after Ely the cops wait in the desert, you WILL get busted.

I really felt we needed to emphasize to peace and quiet of endless miles of nothing but that COP I just flew by at,oh shit,really fast!Otherwise keep your tank full when you can,at those speeds bikes get thirsty,don't pass a pump.

When my brother and I did that run a few years back, we rode up I-15 to Zion then took US-89 the rest of the way up. Watch the 25mph towns though.

Thanks for the route suggestions, I am on a 1200 multi so I have about a 200 mile range. I like the suggestion of heading up 395 as it might be a little cooler. I don't mind doing some night riding. Keep the suggestions coming as I still have a few weeks to make up my mind. Jeff

Be careful with the night riding. All the critters large and small like to come out when it's cool.

+1 on the critters at night,but I like the areas your going through at night,it's kinda magical in the desert at night,I would ride at night out there.

read my 'hit a cow in baja' in faceplant.......and that was day time!

I won't ride at night.................

Here is the scenic route, but not faster:

Head north on I5, in Fresno, take Hwy 41 up to Hwy 49 at Oakhurst. Take Hwy 49 all the way to Hwy 80 at Auburn, then Hwy 80 to SLC. About 18 hours total.

Auburn is about 8 hours from Ontario, and would be a good place to stop for the night.

You can cut the time in half by taking Hwy 15 all the way, though...

Your'e kinda stuck with shitty roads getting out of So. Cal. Tuckers' route probably gets you out quickest as things improve along 395 once you pass Ridgecrest, but crossing Nevada on the 6 is a looong empty stretch - it does have a certain appeal though. I'd second the recommendation for rte 89 north from Zion. I15 sucks til you get to the Virgin River Gorge, but past that is some really delightful riding all the way up 89

This is good and you can make St. George UT for your night stop or maybe a casino in Mequite NV.

Or you could:

15/395/178/DV/Beatty/95/Goldfield..then at Tonopah go right then left on 376, then at 50 go left to Austin then right on 305 to Battle Mountain, then 80 to SLC.


I've ridden 50 also to the 15. Nevada is kinda odd, other than Las Vegas, Reno, Carson City and on a smaller scale Beatty, Ely and Wendover there isn't much to see. I've ridden every paved road on the Nevada map...yep, everyone of them. (Even that little bit down to Scotty's Castle in California).

I've slept in Ridgecrest, Ely, Beatty, Furnace Creek, Shoshone, Vegas, Reno, Wendover, Battle Mountain, Reno, Carson City, St. George, Mesquite, Cedar City, Baker, Bishop......I've been everywhere Man....except the dusty road to Winnemucca!

Ok I think that I have come up with the routes for there and back. O the way out I am going to head out 10 and head out through 29palms and end up in bullhead city for the night, I want to ride over 93 and the Hoover dam, lived this close for 30 years and never seen it. I will get up and ride over the dam and maybe stop for a few, then off. Then heading up north via the lake bypass road and catch 15 instill I get to Zion NP. Ride through and up 89 into SLC. The second day may be a little long but I always have the option of hitting the interstate if need be. On the way home I think I will try route 6 it looks fun and might not have too much traffic, this also puts me further north so it will be faster to get home, which is not Ontario, thank god. I am thinking that if 120 is open then I will head through Yosemite and then across the valley on 198 and then down either 101 or 1 back to home in Solvang. Thanks everyone for the advice so far and anything else you can add.
Jeff

You might want to spend the night in Laughlin instead of Bullhead City. We stayed in Bullhead a few years ago, and there were not a lot of available places to stay -- although it may have improved the last few years. Laughlin has more accommodations.