12 Day Dreamcatcher Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour in USA

Overview

On the ancient tribes, a dreamcatcher is a small hoop containing a horsehair mesh decorated with feathers and beads, believed to give its owner good dreams. Dreamcatchers were originally made by American Indians. Just like this early Indian relic does good to its owner, this tour has only positive effects on the rider. Traveling in style, your Harley-Davidson will take you through the four states of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah and leads through the beautiful and vast reservations of the Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai, Paiute, and Havasupai.

Highlights

• Ride on the great Route 66
• Starts and ends in Los Angeles
• Visit the iconic Monument Valley
• Explore the amazing Grand Canyon
• Harley Davidson motorcycle rental
• 11 nights accommodation
• Liability insurance

Itinerary

1. Day 1 - Arrival Day

   Welcome to Los Angeles! The mega-metropolis at California’s Pacific Coast is most inviting. Mild temperatures during the winter months and a refreshing ocean breeze in summer combined with hundreds of miles of scenic backcountry roads make this a mecca for any motorcyclist and the perfect starting point for this particular tour. If you’re on a guided tour: your tour guide will greet you at 4:00 pm to get all necessary formalities aka paperwork out of the way. Dinner is on us tonight so your tour guide can give you important information on how we operate the tour and what to expect.

2. Day 2 - Los Angeles to Palm Springs (190 miles / 306 kilometers)

   This morning we meet in front of the hotel where a private transfer to the rental location is waiting for you. After you receive your motorcycle you head south and out of L.A. to San Juan Capistrano. You choose the route to be Ortega highway, one of the best and curviest roads through the Cleveland National Forest. After a great American-style lunch in an isolated town at Lake Elsinore, you continue riding through the valley to the Mountains of the Mt. San Jacinto State Wilderness. At Lake Hemet, you hook up with the Pines to Palms Highway and the continuously twisty and windy road takes you d

3. Day 3 - Palm Springs to Lake Havasu City (200 miles / 320 kilometers)

   You say goodbye to Palm Springs and head north, passing through one of the oldest and largest wind power farms in the United States. Soon you arrive in Yucca Valley, where you can stop briefly to go shopping for a picnic lunch you’ll have in the natural splendor of Joshua Tree National Park. You continue east into the desert and soon reach the Colorado River which builds the natural border between California and Arizona. Some of you will find themselves right at home as we reach Lake Havasu City’s London Bridge spanning the river. It’s a relocated 1830 bridge that formerly spanned the River Th

4. Day 4 - Havasu City to Williams (215 miles / 345 kilometers)

   Today you start out the day with a visit to the historic gold mining district of Oatman, Arizona, and its wild donkeys wandering the streets. Then it’s on to the curvy and twisty Oatman Road over Sitgreaves Pass to Kingman, where you can include an optional stop to do some shopping at the local Harley-Davidson® dealer if time allows. Back on Historic Route 66 and passing the Hualapai Indian Reservation, you’ll hang out at Hackberry General Store on your way to lunch in the famous Route 66 town of Seligman. After lunch, you’ll have some time to get your hands on some Route 66 souvenirs offered

5. Day 5 - Williams to Page (190 miles / 305 kilometers)

   Not everyone is an early bird, especially not while on vacation, but this morning it would really pay off to get up early and start rolling as you’ll have the opportunity to experience one of the most thrilling things to do at Grand Canyon: a helicopter ride through the canyon. After that, you leave Tusayan and take your time riding along the south rim of the canyon, stopping frequently at lookout points to take pictures and savor the mesmerizing vistas. After leaving the park you will stop at the Cameron Trading post for lunch and some more Navajo Indian artifact shopping. Back on the bikes,

6. Day 6 - Page to Bluff (172 miles / 278 kilometers)

   Back on the bikes, you continue the ride through the Navajo Nation to one of the most beautiful locations in the southwest, Monument Valley Tribal Park. Made famous by the numerous Hollywood movies filmed here over the last seventy-plus years, it somehow looks familiar. If you look closely you can almost see John Wayne riding his horse amongst the monuments (“Stagecoach”, 1938). This place is so iconic for so many reasons and as you tour Monument Valley, you may notice that many of the inhabitants still use horses as their main form of transportation. There are several weather-beaten trailers

7. Day 7 - Bluff to Torrey (190 miles / 305 kilometers)

   You head out North this morning and reach the easternmost point of your tour at Blanding. Then comes what everyone is secretly looking for: bends, curves, corners, twisties that wind up into the Vermillion Cliffs to the top of the Colorado Plateau. From here you continue onward through some of the most spectacular scenery the southwest has to offer. You pass Natural Bridges National Monument and glide through Fry Canyon National Recreation Area to your rest stop in Hanksville – it’s Buffalo Burger time! After lunch, you ride through Capitol Reef National Park and reach Torrey, your entrance to

8. Day 8 - Torrey to Zion NP (190 miles / 305 kilometers)

   Up to and over Boulder Mountain in Dixie National Forest this particular stretch seems to be made in motorcycle heaven and you can’t really decide which one is better: the perfectly winding road or the amazing scenery. One last stop and a quick coffee before you reach Bryce Canyon, National Park. You’re in awe of this place – we’ve never met anyone who didn’t admire the sheer beauty of this canyon. There is enough time to visit two or three of the best vista points before you continue your ride. Now you’re making your way towards Zion NP and the 60 mile stretch to the park entrance is reminisc

9. Day 9 - Zion NP to Las Vegas (200 miles / 320 kilometers)

   After you’ve loaded on great breakfast you continue on through southern Utah until you drop down into Hurricane and snake your way through the Virgin River George into the desert leading to Las Vegas. Avoiding the interstate freeway you get off at the Valley of Fire and ride along Lake Mead’s Northshore Road which makes for a much nicer trip into Las Vegas. For those that have never been here, we certainly recommend taking a stroll down the “Strip”, as Las Vegas Blvd is commonly called, and dropping into some of the theme hotels. Your body will certainly thank you after all the time in the sad

10. Day 10 - Las Vegas to Twentynine Palms (180 miles / 290 kilometers)

    There are three options today: you can leave early and visit Hoover Dam or you can catch a glimpse of Death Valley before heading south into the Mojave Desert. The third option is to directly shoot for the desert, pick up a stretch of the old Route 66 and then make your way to 29 Palms at the outskirts of Joshua Tree NP. Here you can see the Harmony Hotel which the rock band U2 chose to stay at when they were working on their Joshua Tree album.

11. Day 11 - Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles (220 miles / 350 kilometers)

    The last riding day of the tour starts with a cruise through the National Park which is park #5 on your Dreamcatcher Tour. The bizarre rock formations accompany you all the way to the western exit of the park. As we all like to avoid freeways and unfrequented switchback leads you to the mountain town of Idyllwild for lunch. Then we head further west past the water reservoirs of Riverside County. After that, there is, unfortunately, no way around some freeway riding for the last 30 miles of our journey and you’ll dive back into the city limits of Los Angeles to return your motorcycle. The farew

12. Day 12 - Departure 0 miles / 0 kilometer

    Today is the day to pack your bags, filled with the experiences and memories of a great tour of the West, and head home. Have a safe journey home and we hope to see you back for another motorcycling sunrise through the United States, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, or Europe. Bon Voyage, Auf Wiedersehen, Adios, Arrivederci and See Ya!

Ride Details

Bike

rental bike

Mileage

3038 kilometers / 1888 miles

Daily rides

265 - 345 kilometers / 165 - 215 miles

Meals

some breakfasts

Accommodation

You will be staying in three to four-star accommodations in prime locations throughout the tour. The hotels are biker friendly with motorcycle parking on site and also have restaurants on site or within walking distance.

Food

Some hotels offer complimentary breakfast and evening reception.

Getting There

This tour will start and end in San Diego, California. You will explore several US national parks like Joshua Tree, Zion, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon as well as the bustling city of Las Vegas, Nevada. [+](https://www.tripaneer.com/california-sunriders/12-day-dreamcatcher-self-guided-motorcycle-tour-usa# "Zoom in") [−](https://www.tripaneer.com/california-sunriders/12-day-dreamcatcher-self-guided-mo

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