San Francisco Loop: Big Sur Coast, Sequoia & Yosemite

Coast, giant trees and Yosemite, in a loop that starts and finishes in San Francisco. Eight days, seven nights and around 880 miles, which is a modest total for the ground it covers, and the short days are deliberate.

Highway 1 and Skyline Boulevard open it with an easy 120 miles to Monterey, then the route continues south through Carmel and the Big Sur coast, with Hearst Castle on its hilltop and Morro Bay’s offshore rock on the way to San Luis Obispo. Two days of coastline, both under 140 miles, and no reason to rush either of them.

Then it turns inland. The San Joaquin Valley leads to Visalia, and from there the route climbs into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, home to the largest trees on earth by volume, on the way to Oakhurst. Yosemite fills the next day, with Half Dome and El Capitan above the valley floor, before the road drops to Modesto. The final ride loops north through the Napa Valley and finishes across the Golden Gate Bridge.

EAGLERIDER provides the motorcycle and books all seven nights, with Harley-Davidson touring models alongside Triumph and BMW sport machines. Fuel, meals and insurance are separate. Days sit between 120 and 180 miles throughout, which leaves real time at the places worth stopping for. For riders who want the headline sights of California without long transit days, this loop is about as efficiently planned as they come, and San Francisco at both ends keeps the flights simple.