Flying into Vegas and renting a 'Wing - suggest things to see/do?

[PrivatePilot]

Talked to the wife about hopping on a plane and doing a YOLO trip to Vegas for 7 or 8 days assuming the covid thing settles down. Probably late spring or very early summer so it's not too hot. Will rent a big touring bike (probably a Goldwing honestly, we will want the space and comfort) and want to ride.

The only 2 things on my radar at this point are the Grand Canyon, and a night aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA - rumours are it's going to reopen soon, and I won't pull the trigger on the trip until it does, as the Queen Mary is a bucket list thing for me.

Aside from that, we'd like to max out the motorcycle touring experience.

With starting in Vegas in mind, and basically a week's worth of time, what would everyone suggest for a list of places to see/ride?

 

[ifiddles]

Check out the Eagle Rider's website...they have rentals (Harley, Yamaha and BMW) as well as guided and self guided tour information...we drove through Vegas on our way back from California in 2015 but only stayed one night so didn't do much sightseeing...we did go to Hoover Dam and that was pretty cool...

Motorcycle Rentals - Motorcycle Tours | EagleRider

EagleRider, the world's largest motorcycle rental, tour, and membership company, has 1000s of motorcycles maintained to meet strict factory standards providing a fun, safe, and affordable riding experience.

www.eaglerider.com

 

[PrivatePilot]

Yeah, Hoover dam / Grand Canyon are on our list already of course.

I'm leaning towards Twisted Road or Rider-share for the rental - the prices are way better on a lot of touring bikes vs EagleRider via the peer to peer options.

 

[Katatonic]

More local, Valley of Fire national park.
Not so local, Zion National Park in Utah.

 

[matthew]

The Vasquez Rocks are 4 hours away from Las Vegas; That's the area where Captain Kirk fought Gorn on Stark Trek.

 

[Green Meenie]

I would not miss going through Zion Nat. Park, if it were me going. Head up to St. George Utah and take Hwy9 just north of there. It will take you through Zion and dump you out in Mt Carmel Junction at Hwy 89. Head south from there to Grand Canyon.

IMO, Zion will be a trip highlight hands down!

 

[GreyGhost]

I would not miss going through Zion Nat. Park, if it were me going. Head up to St. George Utah and take Hwy9 just north of there. It will take you through Zion and dump you out in Mt Carmel Junction at Hwy 89. Head south from there to Grand Canyon.

IMO, Zion will be a trip highlight hands down!
View attachment 53077

Beautiful.

Do wings come with A/C yet?

 

[Gary]

Yeah, Hoover dam / Grand Canyon are on our list already of course.

Emerald Cave.

Kayak Emerald Cave near Las Vegas

Lake Mead Recreation Area outside of Las Vegas, NV was the first national recreation area designated in the United States. The area of course includes Lake Mead —known for boating, bathtub lines and water scarcity —but the recreation area is also comprised by sections of the Colorado River below...

destinations.rei.com

 

[Mad Mike]

Talked to the wife about hopping on a plane and doing a YOLO trip to Vegas for 7 or 8 days assuming the covid thing settles down. Probably late spring or very early summer so it's not too hot. Will rent a big touring bike (probably a Goldwing honestly, we will want the space and comfort) and want to ride.

The only 2 things on my radar at this point are the Grand Canyon, and a night aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA - rumours are it's going to reopen soon, and I won't pull the trigger on the trip until it does, as the Queen Mary is a bucket list thing for me.

Aside from that, we'd like to max out the motorcycle touring experience.

With starting in Vegas in mind, and basically a week's worth of time, what would everyone suggest for a list of places to see/ride?

It really depends on whether Vegas is a base camp for day trips or the starting point of a tour in the South West. I lived in that part of the world for 10 years, there are lots of options. Eagle rider will let you pickup in LV and drop off in LA, I don't think there is a surcharge.

Vegas to Long Beach (Queen Mary), without stops its a 5-6.5 hour ride depending on traffic thru the LA basin. Not a lot of interesting things to do or see -- just scrubby desert and a smooth straightish slab to ride on -- it's a pretty boring ride. If Vegas is your basecamp the ride out and back kills 2 days.

Another consideration is how much cold/heat can you and your wife take? The high desert can be 35 to 75F in the winter, by May will go over 100F most days.

So, is LV base camp or your starting point?

 

[Relax]

The first time I was in Vegas about 15 years ago for work, I had a day off and decided to look for Area 51. Not that I'm a believer, just curious about the secrecy and wanting to see all the crazy UFO-themed diners and shops I had heard about or seen on X-Files, etc. I assumed it was a popular tourist attraction, so I just took off to the north and thought I'd find it easily. Eventually I had driven for about an hour and nobody anywhere I stopped knew what I was talking about, so I decided to turn around. At least I got to see the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I don't know if things changed after the government officially acknowledged its existence, but it seems there's a lot more tourism info about the surrounding area now, and there's even a stretch of road called the "Extraterrestrial Highway":

Extraterrestrial Highway Road Trip | Las Vegas to Tonopah

Take an alien-themed road trip to Area 51 on the Extraterrestrial Highway. From Las Vegas to Tonopah, Nevada, on state route 375, you’ll pass through Joshua trees, Nevada test sites, and hear stories of UFO sightings. Get the directions and map, and start your top secret road trip here.

travelnevada.com

 

[shanekingsley]

I really like the ride from the Grand Canyon, down along the 89A past Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome, Prescott and Yarnell, before heading north up to Las Vegas.
Something like: Grand Canyon Village to Las Vegas


And as mentioned, on the north side of the Grand Canyon you have Monument Valley, Bryce and Zion, which are stunning.

 

[MacDoc]

Arches too and nearer to Las Vegas Red Rock which has likely been mentioned.
Sequoia too which would be a nice 2 day out and back

Las Vegas to Sequoia National Park

goo.gl

or Via Death valley


there might be a shorter route via Kern River Hwy.

Las Vegas to Sequoia National Park

goo.gl

 

[MSRP]

Any plans for Yosemite/Sierra area?

 

[PrivatePilot]

It really depends on whether Vegas is a base camp for day trips or the starting point of a tour in the South West. I lived in that part of the world for 10 years, there are lots of options. Eagle rider will let you pickup in LV and drop off in LA, I don't think there is a surcharge.

Vegas to Long Beach (Queen Mary), without stops its a 5-6.5 hour ride depending on traffic thru the LA basin. Not a lot of interesting things to do or see -- just scrubby desert and a smooth straightish slab to ride on -- it's a pretty boring ride. If Vegas is your basecamp the ride out and back kills 2 days.

Thanks. Yeah, I should have mentioned, it would be a closed loop back to Vegas likely, especially if we do a peer to peer rental vs Eagle Rider.

Eagle Rider is fine and all, but $2300 for a 8 day rental on a Glide (which isn't even going to be as comfortable as a Goldwing) is hard to swallow when I can get a Goldwing peer to peer for less than half that. Downside, no one-way option. But since flights to/from Vegas are dirt cheap right now, there's some side benefit.

Temperatures are a concern. I hate brutal temps - I'm that guy you see wearing shorts anytime the thermometer is above about 2 or 3 degrees lol. Perhaps we should consider mid April instead. Just not sure if the Queen Mary will be reopened by then, and since that's a biggie part of the trip, it would be enough to call things off if it's not, or push ahead. In which case I guess we'd be looking at renting a cage instead of a motorcycle at that point, unfortunately.

 

[timtune]

peer to peer?? Is that like airbnb for bikes?

Goldwings - having owned one I can say you may roast behind all the plastic. Maybe the newer ones are better but I don't think by much.

I'm interested in how this works for you PP. My sister winters in Arizona and this could be something I'd like to duplicate.

 

[timtune]

Chime in WB. Did you roast behind the shield on your wing?
I cut a postcard sized hole in mine to make it bearable.
(yeah I know they sell wing dings. They also sell fringes but I wouldn't bolt either to a bike I owned)

 

[Wingboy]

I changed the windshield to one with a big hole in it after the first summer. (16 summers) It's fine once you learn to not ride it in city traffic.
The older 1800's had a stupid cooling system. The fans would activate under 15kmh pulling air in from the sides and pushing it out the front where it would flow right over the windshield and into your lap.

 

[timtune]

once more.. peer to peer?

 

[Nikola Tesla]

The first time I was in Vegas about 15 years ago for work, I had a day off and decided to look for Area 51. Not that I'm a believer, just curious about the secrecy and wanting to see all the crazy UFO-themed diners and shops I had heard about or seen on X-Files, etc. I assumed it was a popular tourist attraction, so I just took off to the north and thought I'd find it easily. Eventually I had driven for about an hour and nobody anywhere I stopped knew what I was talking about, so I decided to turn around. At least I got to see the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I don't know if things changed after the government officially acknowledged its existence, but it seems there's a lot more tourism info about the surrounding area now, and there's even a stretch of road called the "Extraterrestrial Highway":

Extraterrestrial Highway Road Trip | Las Vegas to Tonopah

Take an alien-themed road trip to Area 51 on the Extraterrestrial Highway. From Las Vegas to Tonopah, Nevada, on state route 375, you’ll pass through Joshua trees, Nevada test sites, and hear stories of UFO sightings. Get the directions and map, and start your top secret road trip here.

travelnevada.com

Nice! They got some interesting and very very protected bases around there, lots of stuff has moved out to Utah since, Idaho is a good place to see some of our stuff and theirs flying around

 

[Ash]

I really like the ride from the Grand Canyon, down along the 89A past Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome, Prescott and Yarnell, before heading north up to Las Vegas.

+1
89A south of Jerome is great. I think I did 4 passes on that section while the wife was shopping in Sedona.