Roads and Rides:
Western Colorado

Western Colorado
& Eastern Utah

Eastern & Southern Utah

Alternate routes

Elsewhere

Weather and
Road Conditions:
NOAA/National
Weather Service

Road conditions
Colorado CDOT

Road conditions
Utah UDOT

Recent Rides  |   Riders  |   KLR650  |   Motorcycles
Where the road less traveled is neither a poetic metaphor nor a pedestrian platitude.
Many interesting and beautiful roads in western Colorado and eastern Utah are widely known and frequently visited but roads don't have to be famous and popular to be worth traveling. Most roads mentioned here are lesser known, sometimes even to local riders. These roads not only feature stunning scenery but are often lengthy, remote and lightly traveled. Many include long unpaved sections ideally suited to adventure-touring motorcycles with large fuel tanks and all-day comfort. All but a few of the unpaved roads are easy going, suitable for newer riders, cautious older riders or anybody wanting beautiful scenery. It should be understood the following descriptions represent snapshots in time. Unpaved mountain and desert roads vary from season to season and may even be impassable after major storms.
—Verle Nelson, Cedaredge Colorado
Western Colorado:

 Black Ridge Road 		Gunnison River canyon overlook, side trip on "Inspiriation Loop" below.
7.3 miles of 2-track primitive, easy when dry.

 Gateway to Delta 		Across the Uncompahgre Plateau, mostly unpaved.
mostly easy adventure touring / a mile of deep sand / a few steep, tight, loose-rock hairpins favoring dualsports

 Highway 141 		A popular loop with 100 miles of pretty canyons.
paved / any kind of motorcycle, especially sportbikes

 Inspiration Loop 		140 miles of twisty pavement, fast gravel and dirt roads.
paved / unpaved / easy / any kind of motorcycle

 Los Pinos Camp 		A primitive camp near Los Pinos Pass.
paved / unpaved / tricky 300 yards to camp site, doable with care on big adventure touring bikes

 9 passes 1 day 		Nine unpaved passes, all in one day, a modest endurance ride.
easy

 13 passes 1 day 		Thirteen unpaved passes, all in one day, a serious endurance ride.
7 passes easy / 6 passes 4WD trails favoring good riders on dualsports

 Road to Nowhere 		Unpaved road way up north in Western Colorado.
easy

 Uncompahgre 		Over 100 miles of unpaved Divide Road with no towns or houses.
easy
Unpaved Passes:
Fifteen easy unpaved mountain passes in Western Colorado,
west of or crossing the Continental Divide.
Baxter Pass Buzzard-Muddy Divide Kebler Pass Ohio Pass Cumberland Pass Blacksage Pass Waunita Pass Old Monarch Pass Marshall Pass Cochetopa Pass Los Pinos Pass Owl Creek Pass Last Dollar Pass Lone Cone Pass Columbine Pass
gravel / dirt / small rocks, loose or embedded in clay / seasonal soft sand or powdered dirt / normally suitable for most motorcycles with good clearance / condition can vary depending on weather and road maintenance / may be impassable when wet / all closed by winter snow / muddy from spring thaw
Western Colorado and Eastern Utah:

 Dolores River 		River road north out of Gateway along the Dolores River.
unpaved / short (15 miles to end) / easy

 Moab-Telluride 		A 450 loop, 250 miles unpaved.
mostly easy adventure touring / a mile of deep sand / a few steep, tight, loose-rock hairpins favoring dualsports

 Paradox Trail 		Unpaved roads between Paradox and John Brown Canyon.
easy
Eastern and Southern Utah destination or focal point:

 Aquarius Plateau 		A beautiful high plateau between Escalante and Bicknell.
unpaved / easy

 Bullet Canyon 		Not all that remote but pretty and private overnight camp.
easy / good gravel.

 Burr Trail 		Mostly Paved but still beautiful route between Boulder and Bullfrog.
easy / seasonal soft sand or powdered dirt

 Butler Wash Road 		A short, sandy ride along east side of Comb Ridge.
unpaved / easy / seasonal soft sand

 Canyonlands 		450 mile mostly unpaved circumnavigation of Canyonlands NP.
easy enough on a dual sport / experts do it on big adventure bikes

 Capitol Reef area 		Thousand Lakes Mountain, Cathedral Valley, Aquarius Plateau, Hell's Backbone, Burr Trail.
 paved / unpaved / easy except for seasonal soft silt and sand on Notum Road. Cathedral Valley roads (see report)

 Cave with a View 		What to do when it rains and you don't have a tent.
pavement / 100 yards of soft sand to cave / easy but may be private property

 Baxter & 9 mile 		Baxter Pass, 9-mile canyon, UT72 and a seasonal master chef in Torrey.
paved / unpaved / easy / seasonal soft powdered dirt

 Comb Wash 		A short, sandy ride along west side of Comb Ridge.
unpaved / easy / seasonal soft sand

 Cottonwood
 Canyon 		Canyon-rim view of Cottonwood and Dolores canyons.
unpaved / easy on a dual sport / experts would do it on big adventure bikes

 Grand Staircase 		Escalante National Monument, south-central Utah.
paved / unpaved / easy on a dual sport / experts can do it on big adventure bikes / soft sand / one rocky climb

 Hells Backbone 		Boulder Mountain, Burr Trail.
paved / unpaved / easy / seasonal soft sand

 Hovenweep 		A National Monument off the beaten path.
paved

 Monument Valley 		A winter trip to Navajo land.
paved

 Muley Point 		Overnight camping with a distant view of Monument Valley.
easy / 4 miles unpaved / seasonal soft sand

 Pucker Pass 		A 2-day loop ride beginning with Baxter Pass.
paved / unpaved / mostly easy / Pucker Pass varies from easy to difficult depending on maintenance and storms

 San Rafael Desert 		Well over 100 unpaved miles to Hite from Green River.
easy for dual sports / experts do it on big adventure bikes / seasonal soft sand

 Snow Flat 		An interesting road from UT261 to Comb Wash.
easy on duals sport / experts could do it on big adventure bike

 Utah Highway 72 		One of my favorite little-known highways in Utah.
paved
Alternate Routes:

 John Brown Canyon 		Gateway CO to Moab UT via John Brown Canyon
easy
Elsewhere:

 Deals Gap 		Smoky Mountain Ride, twelve states, 4133 miles.
paved

 Death Valley
  		Extraterrestrial Highway.
paved