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Anyone Ridden Through Lassen Park, Calif ?

RTRandy

New member
I'm leaving Friday morning to ride through 11 States over the next 2+ weeks.

Anyhow, I'm told by someone here in Dallas that I must ride through Lassen Valcanic Park so I'm heading north from Truckee just to ride through this park. How bad can it be? Would love any words of wisdom from anyone who's been there.

From there I'll head north through Oregon to get to Walla Walla, Washington so I can head east to finally ride this Lolo pass I keep hearing about. How bad could that be as well :dunno
 
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Was there en route to Redmond a few years back- and on Lolo last year. It was great early in the AM before the winnebagos were out.
Now, you have me worried... whaddya mean by "bad?"
Lassen and Lolo are a terrific cheap thrill! You don't need a GS, if that is what you mean.
 
iRene said:
It was great early in the AM before the winnebagos were out.
Now, you have me worried... whaddya mean by "bad?"
.

Bad like Winnebagos out on the road. Let's hope the traffic is light. I'll try to get an early start for sure. I can't wait to finally see these places.
 
Stephen,
Thanks for reminding me about Pashnit. I hadn't looked at it in a long time since I haven't riden Calif. yet. Great info and photos of Lassen. 89 looks like it's going to be a beautiful road though I'll need to stay focused here for sure.

Thanks,

Randy
 
Lassen

I keep waiting for the "10 best motorcycling roads" thread. These two would be on it! Lassen national park consists of little other than an active (last violent eruption was around 1916) volcano with a road on it. The road is well paved and engineered like a bowl of noodles. It is more fun than should be legal. At the crest of the road the pavement necks down to a one lane bridge over a steaming sulphur vent.
Lolo Pass has a famous sign at its crest (facing west) with the squiggle symbol and the text "next 77 miles". The rhythem of the road is perfect for out sport, but the endless turn after turn requires focused concentration. I had to stop for a while and throw rocks in the Lochsaw river, because my concentration wavered. This road is the western holy grail (IMHO)
Either go late in the afternoon (it is light this time of year till 9:30) or early in the am to avoid motorhomes. :thumb
 
Hey Bob M,

That's encouraging. My whole ride is about searching out these great roads I keep hearing about. The RT will be loaded with system cases, top case, and camping gear so I'll need to be careful for sure.

On Day 2 out of Dallas I plan to ride the infamous 550 north of Durango, AKA "Million Dollar Highway". Another one of those that I haven't ridden, but always makes the "lists".

Day 3,4 and 5 I'm going to ride 95, 24, and 12 in southern Utah to finally see Bryce, Zion, and north Grand Canyon. From there, I need to get across Nevada on Highway 50. I'm hoping for cloudy and cool weather across Nevada :uhoh
 
Route 3

Randy
As you are going north to Lewiston anyway you might consider taking hwy 3 between Enterprise Oregon and Lewiston. This road (for all intents and purposes) drops into Hells Canyon and up the other side. The scenery, the hwy geometry, the climate... it is vastly superior to anything you could hope for.
 
Bob,

If I'm coming north on 395 I can head east on 244 through Ukiah to Hilgard, south on 84 to La Grande. From La Grande it's 82 to Enterprise. Then it's route 3 to Lewiston. Sound right? Any lodging on this route? I'm going to trust you on this one.

Randy
 
Rattlesnake!

Do the Rattlesnake. It's big time fun. There's a little restaurant in the bottom of the canyon where you can buy a "Rattlesnake" t-shirt. (I think 3 from Enterprise to Lewiston is the Rattlesnake, I don't have a map handy.) There are also nice twisties at the north end, dropping down into Lewiston.

I found this remark from an Oregon rider on another forum: "East through Oregon on US 26, cut up to Enterprise, rode the Rattlesnake to Lewiston and then Lolo Pass." There you go, he should know.

La Grande is a big town, lots of lodging. We stayed a night in Enterprise on our way to the Redmond OR rally, only a few motels and nearly nowhere to eat, I think that was a Tues night. Really sleepy tiny town.
 
RT RANDY said:
I'm there! I'm going to ride it and get the T-shirt for sure!

rattlesnake...

rattle1.jpg


rattle2.jpg
 
RT RANDY said:
NO WAY !!! :wow

You sure that's not some shot taken in Vermont ?

Actually, that's southern Florida. If you look closely, you'll see see the girls in bikinis. Note: this may require some Tequila.
 
knary said:
Actually, that's southern Florida. If you look closely, you'll see see the girls in bikinis. Note: this may require some Tequila.

The hills are too small for southern florida.
 
Who needs Taquila on roads like that! :drink

That's incredible!!! Amarillo has nothing on this place!

Knary,

Thanks for the inspiring photos. I am sooo there. :clap

Randy
 
The Rattlesnake is definitely a yes. However, from Enterprise, it's only a few miles to Joseph and Walllowa Lake and a neat cable lift up to the mountaintop there. Lodging at Joseph and also at the Lake.

However, there are all sorts of great roads in Oregon and Washington. Consider a detour west into the Columbia Gorge, especially on the WA side. Lots of lava rock, steep cliffs, waterfalls, scenic views. From Carson, it's less than two hours up to Mt. St. Helens (currently growling and hissing)

395 through eastern Oregon is basically desert, until a little south of John Day (venue for the Chief Joseph BMW rally) One of my favorite roads is OR 19 from Dayville via Condon to Biggs. Sweeping turns, great views, few motorhomes.

Hells Canyon is between Oregon and Idaho, north of Weiser. It's actually deeper than the Grand Canyon, but a much different terrain. Huge curving hills, not sheer dropoffs. You might consider 20/26 to Ontario, then 95 and 71 to Oxbow, and on to the dam. If you don't mind a few miles of gravel, there are roads from Oxbow to Joseph, and Enterprise.

Lolo Pass is scenic, but nothing out of the ordinary for the wild west. There are other passes and side roads leading to Lolo that are away from the motor home brigades. For instance, Lewiston - Cottonwood via 95, then 13 to Lolo Pass (12)

Southbound from Missoula, consider 93 to Salmon and either 93 to Arco or 75 to Stanley (venue for Stanley Stomp) and on to Twin Falls.

But of course, it's only a day's ride from Missoula up to the Going To The Sun highway in Glacier National Park (and that's an awesome ride) and don't forget about Yellowstone National Park, and Craters of the Moon, and...Hey, I haven't even talked about the mountain passes over the Cascades, or the ocean beaches.

Just remember to go home again.

pmdave :thumb
 
Dave,

This is great stuff. I'm going to get out my maps and mark these suggested routes and let you know . I'm trying not to do what I promised myself I wouldn't do and that is be at a particular place on a particular day. The only one day I need to do that is the day I arrive home on the 19th and even that's becoming iffy. :p

Did Glacier, Flathead Lake, and Yellowstone last summer on the way to Spokane. No wonder I'm coming back.
 
Oh, yeh. You actually asked about Lassen Park, not the hundreds of great motorcycling roads in the NW.

I forgot to mention that the mountains in the Sierras and Cascades are high enough to result in major temperature changes. Lassen Peak is around 10,000 feet, and the road is fairly high on the mountain. It's not a big shock to have fresh snow up on Lassen in July. So, if it's abnormally cold down at the bottom of the hill, don't go uphill unless you have your insulation with you. But if it's seriously hot down there at Oroville or Red Bluff, just head up hill, and within a half hour you'll be putting on more insulation. The temperatures down in the Sacramento Valley are often over 100F in July and August, and sometimes up around 118F.

On your way to Lassen, consider going over Tioga Pass (9940 ft) through Yosemite, and then riding up 49--the old gold rush road. Lots of curves to put a smile on your face. Follow 49 to 89, then through Lassen. It's a lot more scenic up in the hills, and fewer motorhomes.

Southeast Oregon can be HOT, too, especially 95 or 395. The passes are typically not over 5,000 ft, so they aren't as cool, and there's not a lot of shade out in sagebrush country. Lolo Pass is only 5,235 , and the forests on the west side create lots of shade (where deer hide).

While we're talking desert stuff, some roads only have fuel every 100 miles or so. It's a good idea to check the map and your fuel level before zipping by a gas station. That's more critical on a Sunday, when those sleepy little burgs have rolled up the sidewalks and the only gas station is locked tight.

So, gas up, carry lots of water, and guzzle, guzzle, guzzle. If you're not whizzing, you're getting dehydrated.

pmdave :brow
 
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