Places to visit in the US
 

I'm doing a USA trip in July/Aug this yr. Starting in LA heading East to Grand Canyon then North to Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, Bonneville salt flats up thru Utah / Wyoming into Grand Teton / Yellowstone then to Red lodge Montana, down to Colarado and the rockies and the Moab then to Sturgis, up to Glacier Nat park across thru Sth West Canada and down the coast back to LA.
About 10k all up in 5 weeks, wish i had longer but i don't, so that'll do.

Can't miss by going down through the Rocky Mountain states. Montana into Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico: Each state has its own character and they are all interesting with great roads. Colorado passes: most paved passes are open by early June. Really high dirt roads may not open up until late June/early July.

................shu

man my post got cut off.
here are some more .
a trip planer made by HD but will work for anyone.
Ride Planner | Harley-Davidson USA

[url=http://www.byways.org/]America's Byways


http://www.byways.org/ the book. Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, 3d Ed. (9781426200564): National Geographic: Books
want it free? Request a Brochure
The national parks (get the $80 pass if you go to many America the Beautiful - The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass ) The pass works for National parks not monuments or state parks. U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America there are books like this about them Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 6th Edition (9781426203930): National Geographic: Books
There is a state park book to Amazon.com: National Geographic Guide to the State Parks of the United States, 3rd Edition (National Geographic's Guide to the State Parks of the United States) (9781426202513): National Geographic Society: Books

Not as well known even in the USA is the Bureau of Land Management BLM
DOI: BLM: National Home Page Free camping and riding, it was made to set aside land for the people to use free.

You can do some well know roads like 101 old 66 the 666 (renamed now) Nevada State Highway 375 the Extraterrestrial Highway ride out to area 51 I see nothing out there but people say they do. The Loneliest Road in America Highway 50 did this once about as lonely as any other desert road. But the pony express did go along it.

Depending on what you would like to see - You could ride the Trans American Trail - 4000miles of dirt roads that cross the US from Eastern TN to the Oregon Coast. Ride the Big Bend area of FL or down to the Keys. The South does have a lot of diversity Hwy 61 for a bit of Delta Blues from Memphis TN to NOLA - Beale St in Memphis, Morgan Freemans blues bar in Clarksdale MS, Antebellum Homes in Natchez and Vicksburg MS (Civil War Battle Field too) to the Jazz of Bourbon St in NOLA.

The Painted Desert and Grand Canyon should be on your list. In Midland TX there is the Confederate Air Force Museum with lots of WW2 aircraft and Nose Art Panels. The Alamo is always worth seeing in San Antonio

There is the Tail of the Dragon for a bit of twisties in Eastern TN - Watch out for the Miatas!!

You can cover a lot of ground in 6 mos - Car shows and bike rallys are starting so finding a schedule of events may be a good way to plan your trip

Have a Good Trip

Jeeez, man, don't go to Big Bend, the Mississippi Delta or Florida in August unless you really crave suffering. Think carefully about Texas, too. I'd say the same about Death Valley, but at least you can zip in there and climb rapidly back out again before you get completely fried. For mid-summer, high elevation will save you throughout the western third of the country until you get fairly far north, with more moderate temperatures right along the coast in most areas.

Now that I think of it, we're probably responding to different posters, with different schedules. Hope that helps anyway.

Mark

Yeah - August is how we keep the Damn Yankees from wanting to move South. They see our women, taste our food and enjoy the hospitality. Then we have August and they think they are in Hell and must run away to the cooler climes they are used to - This keeps the South from being over crowded

Lee

If you've learned this then you are already all set! I would reccomend getting a set of state maps from AAA, pick some of the "must see" places already mentioned, and then find roads drawn in black on the AAA maps to link them together to get from one of the "must see" places to the next. Also look for roads designated as scenic routes (highlighted with dots) by AAA - these are usually good bets. Many of the "must see" places are best experienced if you park the bike and explore on foot to get away from the mobs of tourists that refuse to go anywhere further than 20 ft from their car, especially Yosemite. But some of the most memorable experiences are those you just stumble across when you follow the black roads and ride through towns that don't have Mcdonalds or Wal-mart and the like.

I intend to do a bike trip in the US beginning mid Jan 2011 for a period of 3 months. I intend to buy a bike in the US and sell it before returning.

Where should I start the trip from (based on climate)? Also, please share route ideas?

Thanks.

Yes! I rode the western US in 2007 on a Harley and I enjoyed the visit to Oatman.

I also liked to ride the Mojave Desert on the old Route 66 up to the Roy's Motel & Café in Amboy (of course, if you like to ride in the middle of nowhere....).
The road is exactly this YouTube - THE HITCHER (1986) car chase scene (this fantastic movie was filmed in the Mojave in 1986).