Recommendations for a dayout from Las Vegas

[aho911]

Hello fellow inmates,

i am going to be on a convention in Las Vegas for a week and will have a day off that I intend to spend on a bike. I already reserved a R1200GS and am now looking for Trip recommendations.
My thoughts were either going to the Grand Canyon via Hoover Dam and the old Route 66 or the other direction towards Death Valley/Red Rock canyon.
Could any of you give me some advice on where exactly to go? Oh, btw. I have unlimited mileage on the bike, so that's no problem.

Thanks in advance from cold and snow covered germany

Franz

[Starbuck21]

If you only have one day it is going to be tough. Grand Canyon is quite a drive away and Death Valley is not any better...

Check out:

http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/

This area is scenic and not too far out of Vegas! A beautiful ride and you would have time to ride out to the Dam and sight-see as well.

Another option is to look at:

http://www.grandcanyonwest.com/

This is not nearly as far as Grand Canyon proper but supposed to be breath-taking! Call ahead first though because at one time they did not allow motorcycles here. Hopefully this has changed.

Good luck!

[Rutabaga]

Might take a look at going up to Mount Zion Park. Beautiful area.

[Keithert]

When I had a rented Jeep Wrangler and a free day in Vegas I went to Death Valley. It was a worthwhile trip.

[aho911]

Thanks for your quick replies. Mt. Zion is great! I' ve been there for a hiking trip a few years ago. I will definitely check out Grand Canyon West. Sounds good. I hope they allow motorcycles!
Death Valley sounded tempting to me, because I've never been there before and as it is even closer to Vegas than the Grand Canyon, I thought that this could be nice

[patmo]

Couple of years ago I had the same opportunity and I think there are two good choices...

1....head up to Mt. Charleston and ride to the top of it...about 12000 ft, great views, good ride going up. Then head NW to Death Valley Junction, going through Parhump. Comeback south through California and make sure to go through Red Rock Canyon on the way back....about 300 miles and take about 6 hours + and stops, and how much exploring you do in Death Valley. I was limited by mileage, so I didn't do much, just made sure I got into the park to get a few pictures. Very easy to run 75-80 on much of this route. Great scenery, but not A whole lot of twisties.

2....( I did this in a car over 2 different days but would have been better on bike )..head northeast out to Las Vegas MotorSpeedway. Stop there long enough to get some pictures AND (if you are a Shelby fan like me) stop in at the HQ for Shelby at the speedway....small museum and gift shop to go through with some FANTASTIC cars...cobra #1, Carroll's personal GT350, etc.....then head out to the Valley of Fire State Park.....scenery and road are both GREAT. Go through the park and turn onto North Shore road, which goes along Lake Mead, heading back to Vegas. Will bring you back down to road heading over to Hoover Dam. Go see the dam. This is a much longer ride, and will probably take a full day, but worth it IMO. How much site seeing and picture taking you do will determine how long it will take you.

Enjoy your trip....great area to ride in IMO.......but the strip ain't my thing at all.

[Earendil]

1+ for Valley of Fire.

[Crilly]

I have done Death Valley in a day from Vegas.

[thebugslayer]

Originally Posted by rutabaga

might take a look at going up to mount zion park. Beautiful area.

+1

[bigbadandugly]

Originally Posted by aho911

Could any of you give me some advice on where exactly to go? Oh, btw. I have unlimited mileage on the bike, so that's no problem.

I will hopefully have the same opportunity as you in April. Where did you manage to rent a bike with unlimited mileage?

[aho911]

I could get a reservation from eagle rider from a german website and they offer unlimited mileage

http://www.usareisen.de/motorrad/mot...ten-las-vegas/

Thank you all so much for the great advice in this forum. Just love it.

[eXe]

Zion National Park! Make sure you ride through the tunnel & all the way to the East gate. This is by far my favorite place down there.

Valley of Fire is awesome as well (and closer to Vegas). My wife & I did the loop - Valley of Fire, around Lake Mead to Hoover Dam & back to Vegas in a day. We did quite a bit of walking around Valley of Fire, too (well worth it). Lots of petroglyphs & other cool stuff to see off the road.

Red Rock Canyon is really cool, but not really a full day trip.

Enjoy!

[BMWJustin]

When are you coming to Vegas?

Option 1: The Las Vegas area tour. Valley of Fire, Lake Meade, Hoover Dam, and Red Rock Canyon. If you're coming within the next month, skip Mt Charleston. (and skip Zion too)

Option 2: Ride to Death Valley. Go through Shoshone and ride Badwater Road all the way up to Stovepipe Wells. You will ride as low as 280 feet below sea level. Eat at Furnace Creek. Then on the ride out, go up to Dante's View. From that point, you'll be over 5000' above DV. Across the way, you'll see some of the 10,000 foot mountains that are on the West side of DV. And on a clear day, you can see Mt Charleston.

Option 3: Ride South to Kingman, Arizona. Just south of Kingman, you can get onto the original route 66. You'll roll through an old mining/route 66 town of Oatman. It's a place that's been stuck in time since the early 50's. Continue West on interstate 40, then turn north on Kelbaker Rd and ride through the Mojave preserve. Continue riding north on I-15 back to Vegas. (Kind of boring)


Depending on when you're going, I may be able to join if you'd like.

Have fun!

[aho911]

Hello BMWJustin,

I am flying over next Sunday (Mar 3), that's why I thought that Mt. Charleston might not be possible due to the time of year. As I've already done Version a.) and most parts of c.) (well, at least by car), I guess I'll stick to option b.). Sounds doable to me. My "day off" will be Friday Mar 8

[KHVol]

Valley of Fire is close and like a little Moab. Zion is a terrific trip, will fill the day. If you leave very early you can probably get in Bryce Canyon.