Los Angeles to Palm Springs Motorcycle Tour

Not every road trip needs a fortnight. This self-guided loop out of Los Angeles packs a proper ride into a long weekend: two nights, around 605 miles, and a route that climbs mountain switchbacks, crosses desert and finishes along the Pacific.

Day one heads for Palm Springs, but not directly. The route takes in the coast before turning inland for Highway 243, which climbs through the San Jacinto Mountains in a long sequence of switchbacks and drops riders into the desert at the top. It is 255 miles and comfortably the most varied day of the three, starting at sea level and finishing in the desert.

The middle day runs south past the Salton Sea, an inland sea well below sea level with an atmosphere entirely its own, and through Joshua Tree National Park to the old gold-mining town of Julian up in the Cuyamaca Mountains. The return then picks up Highway 1 for Dana Point and Laguna Beach on the way back into Los Angeles, which is the right way to end a Californian ride.

EAGLERIDER provides the bike and books both nights, with Harley-Davidson touring models alongside Triumph and BMW sport machines. Fuel, meals and insurance are separate. Three days means mountains, desert and coast without needing to book time off work, and because it is self-guided there is nothing to keep up with. For riders based in the area, or anyone adding a few days onto a trip to Los Angeles, it is a surprising amount of Southern California inside a very short window.