Trying To Plan Cross Country Moto Trip

yz763
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yz763
I have finally worked myself into a position where I can travel and I’m trying to plan a trip. I’m a Moto guy but I love riding off road too. I’d like to see states that have open riding areas with some nice open trails. Also want to experience some must ride MX tracks. Good mountain biking is a plus too.
I want to head north from central florida and scoot west. What tracks are must visit? What states are off road motorcycle friendly? I’m thinking I would like to experience Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho. The west central/ great planes states I guess. Thanks for the help!
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Mr. Ted 11/23/2020 6:51pm
11/23/2020 6:51pm
Arizona is very off road friendly, not a lot of tracks though.
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Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp 11/23/2020 6:53pm
11/23/2020 6:53pm
Love the idea, thinking of doing the same. If you make it to Central Texas near Austin we've got you covered. Spoaks Motopark is my hangout and has tracks and trails and there is a Mountain bike park in Bastrop. Plenty of good tracks in the area.
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ElliotB16
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ElliotB16 11/23/2020 8:40pm
11/23/2020 8:40pm
Central Florida, you’re already in the prime location for moto
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yz763
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yz763 11/24/2020 6:03am
11/24/2020 6:03am
Johnny Depp wrote:
Love the idea, thinking of doing the same. If you make it to Central Texas near Austin we've got you covered. Spoaks Motopark is my hangout...
Love the idea, thinking of doing the same. If you make it to Central Texas near Austin we've got you covered. Spoaks Motopark is my hangout and has tracks and trails and there is a Mountain bike park in Bastrop. Plenty of good tracks in the area.
I am trying to figure out how to loop Texas in. I think i would probably swing through on my way back. I am hoping to make this a 3-4 week road trip with a little bumper pull RV trailer. Campgrounds with hook ups in the vicinity are a bonus. I am starting to realize this is a huge commitment but if I don't do it now, I don't think I will ever do it.
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yz763
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yz763 11/24/2020 6:05am
11/24/2020 6:05am
ElliotB16 wrote:
Central Florida, you’re already in the prime location for moto
Yeah, we are pretty fortunate to have some awesome riding areas here. I want to go experience the country and see other things.
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navalseabee
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navalseabee 11/24/2020 7:58am
11/24/2020 7:58am Edited Date/Time 11/24/2020 7:59am
If it were me: Head North to Monster Mountain in Alabama, then West to Golden Pines MX in Mississippi, South to Meridian Mississippi for some good trail riding. Pack up and roll Westward to Underground MX in Texas. From there North West to get some epic high alpine single track in Colorado, Idaho and Utah.
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navalseabee
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navalseabee 11/24/2020 7:59am
11/24/2020 7:59am
navalseabee wrote:
If it were me: Head North to Monster Mountain in Alabama, then West to Golden Pines MX in Mississippi, South to Meridian Mississippi for some good...
If it were me: Head North to Monster Mountain in Alabama, then West to Golden Pines MX in Mississippi, South to Meridian Mississippi for some good trail riding. Pack up and roll Westward to Underground MX in Texas. From there North West to get some epic high alpine single track in Colorado, Idaho and Utah.
Edit: Brett Cue’s YouTube channel has some good looking Oklahoma tracks on it also.
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skeef
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skeef 11/24/2020 8:15am
11/24/2020 8:15am
If you make it west, I would definitely ride southern Utah; Cainville, sand hallow, & mt. carmel junction. Then cruise down to Flagstaff, AZ and ride Cinders OHV, Make your way to phoenix, ride Wildcat pass, hit ACP & Canyon for track time. Then cruise to Southern California, stop at Ocotillo Wells, from there your an hour or so from San Diego and all of the popular tracks there.
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NorCal1975
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NorCal1975 11/24/2020 11:00am
11/24/2020 11:00am
skeef wrote:
If you make it west, I would definitely ride southern Utah; Cainville, sand hallow, & mt. carmel junction. Then cruise down to Flagstaff, AZ and ride...
If you make it west, I would definitely ride southern Utah; Cainville, sand hallow, & mt. carmel junction. Then cruise down to Flagstaff, AZ and ride Cinders OHV, Make your way to phoenix, ride Wildcat pass, hit ACP & Canyon for track time. Then cruise to Southern California, stop at Ocotillo Wells, from there your an hour or so from San Diego and all of the popular tracks there.
When are you going? Idaho, Colorado, parts of Utah are too cold/snowy this time of year.
Caineville for sure in the Spring and Fall, that place is unreal. Videos don't do it justice. Do not miss Caineville. Even when it is dry and dusty (most of the time) its still great. If you go mid week you can have the place to yourself, which may not be a good thing if you are traveling along. If you go I would suggest a Thursday to Saturday deal. Smaller crowd on Thursday, getting busier Friday afternoon into the weekend. On the weekends the youtubers show up looking for the big booters, fun to watch, but I have seen a few scary wipeouts over the years. Did I say to not miss Caineville?!
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TooTallJason
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TooTallJason 11/24/2020 12:11pm
11/24/2020 12:11pm
If you're planning on Colorado, I'd try to apply for an OHV permit if you're going to trail ride, also if you're going to ride trails, I'd download the CoTrex app (like All Trails but ran by state of CO with free downloadable maps.) If moto is what you're after, most the tracks are within two hours of Denver and easy to get to. As people said though, if you're coming in the winter it's hit or miss if they'd be open.
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skeef
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skeef 11/24/2020 12:42pm
11/24/2020 12:42pm
skeef wrote:
If you make it west, I would definitely ride southern Utah; Cainville, sand hallow, & mt. carmel junction. Then cruise down to Flagstaff, AZ and ride...
If you make it west, I would definitely ride southern Utah; Cainville, sand hallow, & mt. carmel junction. Then cruise down to Flagstaff, AZ and ride Cinders OHV, Make your way to phoenix, ride Wildcat pass, hit ACP & Canyon for track time. Then cruise to Southern California, stop at Ocotillo Wells, from there your an hour or so from San Diego and all of the popular tracks there.
NorCal1975 wrote:
When are you going? Idaho, Colorado, parts of Utah are too cold/snowy this time of year. Caineville for sure in the Spring and Fall, that place...
When are you going? Idaho, Colorado, parts of Utah are too cold/snowy this time of year.
Caineville for sure in the Spring and Fall, that place is unreal. Videos don't do it justice. Do not miss Caineville. Even when it is dry and dusty (most of the time) its still great. If you go mid week you can have the place to yourself, which may not be a good thing if you are traveling along. If you go I would suggest a Thursday to Saturday deal. Smaller crowd on Thursday, getting busier Friday afternoon into the weekend. On the weekends the youtubers show up looking for the big booters, fun to watch, but I have seen a few scary wipeouts over the years. Did I say to not miss Caineville?!
Caineville is dirt bike heaven on earth right? I've been going to Ocotillo my whole life and still can't find anything to beat it but i've heard and read caineville gives it a run for it's money. Can you ride year around or does it snow and get cold as balls? I'm trying to plan a trip there myself. I've done st.george, sand hallow, & mt. carmel.
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NorCal1975
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NorCal1975 11/24/2020 2:20pm
11/24/2020 2:20pm
skeef wrote:
Caineville is dirt bike heaven on earth right? I've been going to Ocotillo my whole life and still can't find anything to beat it but i've...
Caineville is dirt bike heaven on earth right? I've been going to Ocotillo my whole life and still can't find anything to beat it but i've heard and read caineville gives it a run for it's money. Can you ride year around or does it snow and get cold as balls? I'm trying to plan a trip there myself. I've done st.george, sand hallow, & mt. carmel.
I am not a local, just been there a bunch of times. Would say Caineville is too cold in the Winter, it gets down into the low teens or high single digits most nights. April/May and October into early November would be the best for weather if you like it cool but not cold. We usually go in the Fall. You can look at weather for Hanksville Utah which is just 15 miles down the road and just a couple hundred feet lower in elevation for an idea of monthly weather averages: https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut3611

One other thing, there are no moto stores that I know of for a long way, probably 90 miles or more. Bring lots of parts. Gas and food are in Hanksville. It is the friggin middle of nowhere. Capital Reef National Park to the west is pretty cool though
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skeef
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skeef 11/24/2020 2:25pm
11/24/2020 2:25pm
skeef wrote:
Caineville is dirt bike heaven on earth right? I've been going to Ocotillo my whole life and still can't find anything to beat it but i've...
Caineville is dirt bike heaven on earth right? I've been going to Ocotillo my whole life and still can't find anything to beat it but i've heard and read caineville gives it a run for it's money. Can you ride year around or does it snow and get cold as balls? I'm trying to plan a trip there myself. I've done st.george, sand hallow, & mt. carmel.
NorCal1975 wrote:
I am not a local, just been there a bunch of times. Would say Caineville is too cold in the Winter, it gets down into the...
I am not a local, just been there a bunch of times. Would say Caineville is too cold in the Winter, it gets down into the low teens or high single digits most nights. April/May and October into early November would be the best for weather if you like it cool but not cold. We usually go in the Fall. You can look at weather for Hanksville Utah which is just 15 miles down the road and just a couple hundred feet lower in elevation for an idea of monthly weather averages: https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut3611

One other thing, there are no moto stores that I know of for a long way, probably 90 miles or more. Bring lots of parts. Gas and food are in Hanksville. It is the friggin middle of nowhere. Capital Reef National Park to the west is pretty cool though
Being raised in AZ anything lower than 65 is cold for meLaughing Thanks for the info, much appreciated.
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yz763
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yz763 11/24/2020 5:18pm
11/24/2020 5:18pm
This is great info! Thank you everyone! I am hoping to do this after the new year because I would like for it to be warm. Probably shooting for February or March. I’m not trying to be away for more than a month but who knows.
Rawly
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Rawly 11/24/2020 9:24pm
11/24/2020 9:24pm
If you make it down to Southern California , you can hit up some good off-road desert riding on both sides of a Glen Helen trip . You would be able to ride the Spangler Hills / Red Mountain area outside of Ridgecrest or the Jawbone / Dove Springs area on your way from the north , and Johnson Valley on your way back east. Keep us posted , and you are sure to get a guide to show you where the good stuff is. Enjoy your safari !
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DM268
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DM268 11/24/2020 9:26pm
11/24/2020 9:26pm
I don't know much information on single track stuff, but Texas has some awesome tracks to ride at. 3 palms has a few different tracks that you can ride (GP tracks is my favorite), Oak Hill, Cycle Ranch and OMC in Oklahoma City are some of my favorites.

Depending on the time of the year you're looking at going, the upper central states have some sweet tracks as well, here are some of the bigger name ones, but there are lots of others as well:

Spring Creek (Millville MN)
Sunset Ridge (Illinois)
MOTO land (Indiana)
Oak Ridge (Iowa)
The Berms (Wisconsin)
RalphS
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RalphS 11/24/2020 9:52pm
11/24/2020 9:52pm
Having lived in FL, I'd tell you to check weather on the locations you're going at the time you're going. March-April weather in CO, UT and north AZ could be damn cold for a Floridian including snow. Not that it matters, just bring proper equipment. Don't think it much just go and enjoy! That's a unique trip that you'll only regret if you don't do it.

Check the SX calendar, maybe there's race/location you can accommodate in your trip.

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