Utah National Parks Motorcycle Tour

Utah’s national parks are close enough together to be ridden as one loop, and this self-guided route does exactly that. Nine nights out of Las Vegas, around 1,175 miles, and a run that links Zion, Bryce country, Capitol Reef, Moab and the canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau.

The scenery escalates. Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam open the ride, then Zion’s cliffs and tunnels announce what the rest of the week will look like. Page and Lake Powell follow, then Antelope Canyon and the buttes around Monument Valley on the way to Mexican Hat. Days are short by American standards, mostly 120 to 240 miles, because in this country the stopping matters as much as the riding.

Moab gets a free day, and the choice there is a good problem to have: the arches and fins of Arches National Park, or the vast overlooks of Canyonlands. From there the route crosses Capitol Reef, one of the quietest of Utah’s parks and one of the best roads in it, then runs through the Dixie National Forest towards Kanab, with the Grand Canyon’s North Rim available as a detour for anyone with the appetite.

EAGLERIDER provides the motorcycle and books every hotel, so the only decisions left are where to pull over. Harley-Davidson touring models sit alongside Triumph and BMW sport machines in the fleet. Fuel, meals and insurance are separate. Red rock, slot canyons, high desert and some of the emptiest tarmac in the lower 48, with Las Vegas at both ends to make the flights simple.