The Best Motorcycle Riding Roads In Your Backyard
From the Beartooth Highway to the Tail of the Dragon, the U.S. is unequivocally home to some of the best riding roads in the world. These routes and loops are often characterized by attributes such as a smooth, well-maintained tarmac, a lack of traffic, scenic views, and plenty of corners. Consequently, many of the greatest riding roads are found far outside of city limits — if not in the middle of nowhere — requiring an extensive trek just to get to the starting point of these famed rides. If you know where to look, however, there are a handful of world-class motorcycle roads located just a stone’s throw from major metropolitan areas. And it’s this group of twisties that we’ll be exploring in this breakdown of the best riding roads in your backyard.
The Criteria
When making our picks for this list, we’ve limited our selections to routes that are close to major urban areas — being no more than an hour outside city limits. What’s more, we’ve only selected routes and loops that offer at least an hour or more of riding, not including the sub-one-hour time that it takes to get there. The number and types of turns, the quality of the road itself, and the surrounding scenery also played pivotal roles in each of these routes earning their place on this list.
The Rides
The Route: SF To Santa Cruz
Starting Point: San Francisco
Length: 89 Miles
Starting at the AETHERsf store, this route sees riders make their way south on the 280, exiting the city then being spat out onto Skyline Blvd. While the first portion of the ride is pleasant and offers scenic views, what really makes this route special is the leg spent on Route 9, which boasts miles and miles of winding, rural and mountain roads. Additionally, because of the diverse variety of long sweepers and tighter, more technical corners, this route can be thoroughly enjoyed by pretty much any type of bike. This ride also makes for a great excuse to ride down to Santa Cruz and check out the boardwalk and the various restaurants and breweries scattered around the college town.
The Route: Angeles Crest Highway
Starting Point: Los Angeles
Length: 66 Miles
Located just 15-20 minutes from Silverlake, this route sends riders up CA-2 to La Cañada Flintridge, which is where the real fun begins at the base of the Angeles Crest Highway. From here, riders are treated to hundreds and hundreds of cliff-hugging corners, banked curves, off-camber turns, and a decent number of straightaways tying everything together. The second highest mountain pass in SoCal at 7,943’, this picturesque route admittedly doesn’t offer much margin for error, though if you ride within your limits and don’t push your luck, “The Crest” guarantees a legitimately world-class ride each and every time — plus it only gets better the more you memorize the route.
The Route: The Cascade Loop Scenic Byway
Starting Point: Seattle
Length: 440 Miles
Located less than an hour north of Seattle, the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway is a massive 440-mile circuit made up almost entirely of twisty scenic roads. Over the multi-day ride, this loop sees riders negotiate a super diverse array of landscapes and scenery, from the acres of fruit trees in Leavenworth to the massive fields of hay and farmlands to the jagged rocky coast of the Puget Sound. Passing by a slew of quaint cafes, campsites, shops, and bed and breakfast spots, the Cascade Loop also grants access to the network of ferries that can transport riders onto the San Juan Islands — making for an even more memorable experience on two wheels.
The Route: Heber To Hannah & The Wolf Creek Pass Loop
Starting Point: Park City
Length: 97 Miles
Heber to Hannah and the Wolf Creek Pass Loop is another bucket list ride that’s conveniently located less than half an hour south of Park City. Almost half of this ride is made up of long sweeping corners, with another quarter of the ride being tight technical turns, and the remaining quarter being the straights that connect everything. Despite being just under 100 miles long in total, this beloved route and loop includes an astounding variety of scenery and landscapes, from evergreen forests to red rock canyons — plus you get some beautiful vistas when passing the Strawberry Reservoir. And, while it’s a much shorter ride, we also highly recommend the 40-mile Provo Canyon to Park City route, as it’s another one of our favorite local stretches to navigate on a motorcycle.
The Route: NYC To Bear Mountain State Park
Starting Point: New York City
Length: 54 Miles
When we talk about the best riding roads, in and around the Big Apple is very seldom what comes to mind. The route from New York City to Bear Mountain State Park (via the Palisades Interstate Pkwy) may change this perception — and for good reason — as the approximately 55-mile journey sees riders pass through everything from bustling city streets to coastal parkways overlooking the Hudson to dozens of miles through Harriman State Park. It’s an outstanding option for those who want to escape the city, clear their minds, and get some great riding in. Participants can also extend this ride by continuing east onto U.S. Route 6 or heading further north on U.S. Route 9W — adding to the appeal of this already noteworthy route.
The Route: Lake Okeechobee Loop
Starting Point: Miami
Length: 109 Miles
Moving on to the most relaxed ride on our list, we’ve got the Lake Okeechobee Loop. Starting a bit west of West Palm Beach, this roughly 100-mile loop consists of a circuit around Lake Okeechobee, just like its name suggests. Though you’ve got plenty of long, and we mean LONG, sweepers, this route is more about taking on a relaxed and comfortable ride. As a result, it’s a go-to destination for cruisers as it’s simply perfect for “low and slow” riding. Like the previous entries on this list, this route is located less than an hour outside of a major city — in this case Miami — and features more than its fair share of stunning views.
The Route: Aspen To Twin Lakes Reservoir
Starting Point: Aspen
Length: 43 Miles
If you happen to possess a major affinity for motorcycles, the great outdoors, and wildlife, the Aspen To Twin Lakes Reservoir route is practically guaranteed to be right up your alley. Starting in the iconic mountain town of Aspen, this ride follows Independence Pass, which is the third highest paved pass in the country at just over 12,000’. Consequently, it offers some excellent views of nature, wildlife, and historical sites. It doesn’t end there — figuratively or literally — as this route from Aspen to the Twin Lakes Reservoir also crosses the Continental Divide via the Sawatch Mountain Range, and comprises a section of the top of the Rockies Scenic Byway. This ride is obviously extremely cold in the winter — though you can always gear up for the ride by visiting AETHER’s brick-and-mortar store in Aspen!
The Route: The "Devil's Backbone"
Starting Point: Austin
Length: 51 Miles
Just a short ride from Austin, the "Devil's Backbone" is a renowned loop that’s famous amongst bikers in Texas. While it admittedly doesn’t offer the most technical or adrenaline-inducing experience in the saddle, it more than makes up for this with its picturesque views and comfortable year-round weather. A rideable slice of Americana, this route also has the added benefit of taking you through a myriad of small Texas towns, which means it also boasts some incredible food, some amazing local watering holes, and some incredibly unique places to stay. This is also another option that’s just perfect for cruisers, baggers, and tourers.
Honorable Mention
The Route: Pacific Coast Highway
Starting Point: Dana Point or Leggett, CA
Length: 656 Miles
While there’s a very decent likelihood that you’re already privy to this route, we’d still be remised if we talked about the best local riding roads near major cities without giving a shoutout to the famed Pacific Coast Highway, or “PCH” as it’s often called. Running all the way from Dana Point to Leggett, California, the PCH offers an unparalleled combination of world-class twisties and world-class views, with over 650 miles of winding coastal road that’s as pristine as the beaches and cliffs that it overlooks. Add to that a huge array of restaurants, motels, breweries, shops, and other attractions scattered across this massive coastal route, and you’ve objectively got one of the best motorcycling roads on the planet — and one that’s just outside your backyard for residents of Los Angeles or San Francisco.
