Bellingham Wa to Colo Springs Co - Route Ideas

[daveh10st]

Hello All:

Two of us are riding from Colo to Bellingham, Wash the last of June. I have the route to Bellingham pretty well mapped-out, (Colo-Yellowstone-up to Canada-then west to Bellingham) but would appreciate some advice from people who know the area for the ride back.

We are thinking we would like to ride the Pacific Coast Highway 101 south from Bellingham to a point somewhere north of San Francisco, then head east across Nevada (Highway 50 maybe?) , then wonder across Utah back into Colo.

So my questions are: Do we have to ride thru Seattle, or can we skirt Seattle to the west without too much trouble and get to the coast? If you were riding from Bellingham to Colorado, do you have a favorite route? We have about 4 days to do the ride back so we can wonder-around a little, and would prefer to skip the slab unless it’s just a short stretch to get to a better road.

Any advice is appreciated. And if there are roads/routes to avoid let me know that too. We don’t want to bother anyone for a town-by-town route. Just generally point us in the right direction.

Thanks in advance

 

[synstars]

Hey I am new to the WA area so of no use to you on that but when are you riding back to Colorado Springs? I am in Spokane, WA and have family that I will be visiting in Colorado Springs and if its around the same time it would be fun to meet up with a few others.

 

[SeabeckS]

Hello All:

Two of us are riding from Colo to Bellingham, Wash the last of June. I have the route to Bellingham pretty well mapped-out, (Colo-Yellowstone-up to Canada-then west to Bellingham) but would appreciate some advice from people who know the area for the ride back.

We are thinking we would like to ride the Pacific Coast Highway 101 south from Bellingham to a point somewhere north of San Francisco, then head east across Nevada (Highway 50 maybe?) , then wonder across Utah back into Colo.

So my questions are: Do we have to ride thru Seattle, or can we skirt Seattle to the west without too much trouble and get to the coast? If you were riding from Bellingham to Colorado, do you have a favorite route? We have about 4 days to do the ride back so we can wonder-around a little, and would prefer to skip the slab unless it’s just a short stretch to get to a better road.

Any advice is appreciated. And if there are roads/routes to avoid let me know that too. We don’t want to bother anyone for a town-by-town route. Just generally point us in the right direction.

Thanks in advance

You can take the Ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend and totally avoid Everett, Seattle and Tacoma freeways. From Port Townsend you can either loop around the Olympic Peninsula or just go down the Eastside of the Peninsula along Hood Canal on 101. Easy to connect to the Coastal route either way, but I think I'd recommend the Hood Canal route.

Used to live in Northern Nevada and have a lot of favorite routes through the Sierras. But with only 4 days to ride I think you might be pushing it. More to follow after I ponder this for a bit.

 

[SeabeckS]

As I understand from others, the Oregon coast route is full of RV's in the summer and consequently take a lot time. Which is why I'm a bit skeptical of a four day ride being possible.

But...if you go that way, there are a couple of opportunities when you make it into California. The first would use 299 just outside Arcata to head east through Redding, then onward on 44 to go through Lassen NP. Scenic ride from the south side of Lassen is south past Lake Almanor to hook up with 70, the Feather River Canyon. Then through Quincy and into Reno.

Or...

Continue south on 101 to 20 near Willits, take 20 eastbound through Marysville and Nevada City. From Nevada City I'd take 49 over Yuba Pass, then 89 south to Truckee. From Truckee you can zoom on into Reno, or continue on south to Tahoe. Take the Nevada side of the lake, and either cutoff at Incline Village to go over Mt Rose into the Reno area. Or continue south along the lake to 50 at Spooner's Jct. From there it's just a few miles in to Carson City. Or...lol...continue a bit further south around Tahoe to 19 just outside of Stateline. 19 is a nice scenic route that takes you into Carson Valley, about 15 miles south of Carson City...

 

[daveh10st]

Hey I am new to the WA area so of no use to you on that but when are you riding back to Colorado Springs? I am in Spokane, WA and have family that I will be visiting in Colorado Springs and if its around the same time it would be fun to meet up with a few others.

Current plans are to leave Bellingham Wednesday morning June 29th, but not much planned beyond that. What dates are you looking at?

 

[synstars]

Was needing to be in Colo Springs by July 3rd or 4th.

Was planning on alternate route avoiding interstate. Not sure if this will show or not.

http://mapq.st/1TjDMFJ

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

 

[SeabeckS]

A note on Washington State Ferries.

The route that's best for your ride is from Coupeville on Whidbey Island. If you get through the toll booth 15 minutes before the listed departure time, you will be loaded first onboard just after any bicycle traffic. Cars boarded after you. First on, first off. . If you arrive after they start loading cars, you will "probably" still get on, but you'll also be last off. This is a pretty short run...

Ferry schedules are online, and generally they keep things on time pretty well. BUT, this route is one that is most affected by tides, so sometimes is limited in runs. This info is on the website, so be sure to look at that too...

If y'all like coffee, I can recommend Sweet Laurette on Lawrence in Port Townsend.

 

[daveh10st]

We plan on leaving Wednesday June 29th from Bellingham, so we were thinking we could avoid the Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon traffic, but summer will be in full swing and that's right before the 4th of July holiday weekend. Ferry sounds great as an alternate to threading thru Seattle. Are we too optimistic for thinking the Hwy 101? We were hoping for a stress free ride down the coast but maybe that's wishful thinking this time of year.

We can add a day pretty easily (so 5 full days) , and if we get to Utah and are running behind we could make-up time skipping the sightseeing since we were there last year for a week, and we can visit Utah pretty easily anytime.

Mainly, we were thinking that we may not get another chance to ride the northwest so we should try to make the most of what we can.

 

[SeabeckS]

I've just heard lots of caveats over the years from other riders about the Oregon Coast route in the summer. Only personally rode a bit of the north portion a couple of times, and the traffic was kind of irritating. Out of curiousity I just did a map quest thing for Astoria, OR to Arcata, CA which said the 101 was 441 miles and about 9 1/2 hours. I think that's a bit optimistic for late June. OTOH, some nice scenery. A lot of coastal communities interspersed with nice stretches of road.

If I were doing this ride, I'd consider doing the 101 through Washington and into Astoria, OR. Then continue a bit south to 26, east to 47, south to McMinnville (to visit the outstanding Evergreen Aviation and Space Museums), then southward to the super slab in the Salem area or further south on 99W to Corvalis region. Catch I-5 south a bit to 38 west through Drain to head back to the coast and 101 South to Cali.

 

[SeabeckS]

Oh, a shortcut scenic ride out of Bellingham to Whidbey is Chuckanut Drive. Shorter miles than the super slab and a hell of a lot more scenic.

Highway 11, then 237 to highway 20. Aka Chuckanut and Bayview...

 

[SeabeckS]

Sort of stream of consciousness writing here...sorry.

In Cali, if you cut back on 299 you will miss out on some of the Redwoods. There's a sort of famous backroads route south of Eureka that ends up in Red Bluff. I've not had the chance to try this one yet, and it would definitely add some time to your trip...

I'll look it up and forward the info if you are interested...from what I've read it's not heavily trafficked by tourists and is a great motorcycle road....

 

[daveh10st]

Sort of stream of consciousness writing here...sorry.

No need to be sorry . . . . you've given me lots to think about. I'll pull some maps and do a little studying this weekend.

Thanks to all that replied. Once we settle in on a likely route I might check back in to see how it sounds to everyone here.

Thanks again

 

[SeabeckS]

Sort of stream of consciousness writing here...sorry.

No need to be sorry . . . . you've given me lots to think about. I'll pull some maps and do a little studying this weekend.

Thanks to all that replied. Once we settle in on a likely route I might check back in to see how it sounds to everyone here.

Thanks again

Enjoy!

 

[Beemahdad]

Just a few thoughts...
Are you crossing the border into Canada then heading west to Vancouver and circling back down to Bellingham? If you don't cross the border and wish to have a nice stretch of road, consider connecting to Hwy 20 that will take you just south of Bellingham. Continuing on 20 west will eventually lead you to the Keystone ferry that connects to Port Townsend. Leave yourself enough daylight if you intend to circle the Olympic Peninsula as it is somewhat barren with few amenities on the western side. Make sure you pay attention to your gas level after Forks because there are few gas staitions. The route I described so far has to be one of the nicest stretches of 2wheel journeying which I enjoy a few times in the summer. Besides an absence of gas stations, there are few motels and camping options are somewhat limited also.

Good journeying to you

 

[SeabeckS]

To add a bit to Eurok...

The 101 coast route is a bit far between towns, gas and amenities as he mentions. And it's not really a coastal route unless you take some side trips. Rarely will you see the Pacific along that route. Nice ride as usually not a ton of traffic and good pavement...but given the distances you are shooting for it seems a bit too far without any spectacular scenery along the main road. I've done it a few times and doubt I'd go again unless invited by another rider who has never been that way.

Cheers!

 

[rad]

50, It is never my choice to cross Nevada. Take 6 across Nevada, much more fun. You can either finish up going through Ely or turn south and run down the extraterrestrial highway, 375. Then 93 and 319, two nice roads.

The run from 120/395 past Mono Lake out to Benton is a blast. Another plus, you can go over 120, Tioga Pass to cross the Sierras, a stunning road.