12 day Northwest Adventure Motorcycle Tour

No, we're NOT in California for this great tour - we're in the Pacific Northwest! Yes, there's plenty of good riding in California and the American Southwest, but in spite of our company name, some of our favourite (summer) riding is in the pacific Northwest. This tour starts and ends in Seattle and includes great roads and destinations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, plus parts of British Columbia and Alberta in Canada.

We'll ride through the North Cascades National Park (called the American Alps) and the Glacier National Park which straddles the border between Montana and Alberta. This is the Rocky Mountains, and we'll cross the continental divide in both directions. In addition, we'll follow a portion of Lewis & Clark's "Corp of Discovery" route and ride through the accessible part of Hells Canyon on the Snake River. We'll ride the scenic Columbia River Gorge and cross this great fiver where it meets the Pacific Ocean. Last but certainly not least, we'll visit Mount St. Helens, the volcano that blew its top in 1980. Oh, and don't forget the ride through Mt. Rainier National Park. WOW!

The Northwest Adventure Includes:

Thirteen nights hotel accommodation, double occupancy

Twelve days Harley rental including mileage and fuel

Welcome/get-acquainted dinner

Breakfast, lunch and dinner each tour day

Professional guide

Daily riding itineraries and maps

Liability and physical damage insurance

Airport transfers

Taxes

Prices for 12 days:

Harley Sportster: $4,950

Harley Big Twin: $5,450

Passenger/companion: $2,550

Group discounts are available.

If you'd like to arrive sooner, or stay longer, we can assist you with accommodations and travel arrangements.

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1, Sunday. (Seattle to Winthrop, 165 miles) We'll start our adventure from the town of Edmonds on Puget Sound and head to the cute towns of Snohomish and Darrington on our way to the North Cascades highway. After lunch in Marblemount, we'll experience the fun roads and scenic beauty of the North Cascades National Park - often called the American Alps. We'll overnight in the quaint western themed town of Winthrop in the Eastern Cascades.

Day 2, Monday. (Winthrop to Sandpoint, 265 miles) We'll continue east out of the Cascades and ride through the beautiful wilderness of the Okanogan National Forest before crossing the Columbia River in eastern Washington. We'll cross into Idaho to our destination of Sandpoint on magnificent Lake Pend Oreille.

Day 3, Tuesday. (Sandpoint to Fernie, 175 miles)

We'll head north out of Sandpoint and cross the international border into British Columbia as we ridge into the Canadain Rockies. We'll ride the Crowsnest Highway to the scenic ski town of Fernie, on the western slope of the Canadian Rockies.

Day 4, Wednesday. (Fernie to Many Glaciers, 160 miles)

We'll cross the continental divide at Crowsnest summit before turning south through Pincher Creek. Soon, we'll get our first view of Glacier International Peace Park and the peaks near Waterton. After a leisurely lunch at the Prince of Wales Hotel overlooking Waterton Lake, we'll cross back into Montana and continue to our day's destination at Many Glaciers and more spectacular scenery.

Day 5, Thursday. (Glacier National Park)

This park is so beautiful it deserves and extra day. You can take a ride to explore more of the park, go for a hike on one or more of the myriad trails, sign-up for a trail ride by horseback, ride one of the historic red buses or just sit on the sun deck and marvel at the scenery. The day is yours to enjoy.

Day 6, Friday (Many Glaciers to Missoula, 215 miles)

We'll ride the famous "Going to the Sun" highway through the heart of Glacier National Park and across the continental divide at Logan Pass. After leaving the park at West Glacier, we'll head south along the shore of beautiful Flathead Lake on our way to our B&B on the Clark Fork River in Missoula.

Day 7, Saturday. (Missoula to Riggins, 215 miles)

We'll head south towards the Bitterfoot Valley before turning west across Lolo Pass and more than 90 miles of non-stop sweeping turns along the beautiful Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers. This is the same route used by Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery more than 200 years ago. We'll turn south along the Salmon River before reaching the small town of Riggins and our hotel overlooking the Salmon River.

Day 8, Sunday. (Riggins to Baker City, 190 miles)

After we cross into Oregon, we'll ride into the remote, rugged beauty of Hell's Canyon on the Snake River. If we have time, we'll ride all the way down to Hell's Canyon Dam. After leaving Hell's Canyon, we'll folow the route of the historic Oregon Trail before reaching our destination in Baker City.

Day 9, Monday. (Baker City to Hood River, 275 miles)

There are some great roads with light traffic in the Umatilla National Forest as we wind out way northwest across the Blue Mountains towards the mighty Columbia River Gorge. This is a long distance day but the miles go by quickly as we ride through the rolling hills and unending wheat fields of eastern Oregon to our destination of Hood River.

Day 10, Tuesday. (Hood River to Astoria, 180 miles)

We'll continue west down the Columbia River Gorge to beautiful Multnomah Falls. We'll ride the old historic Columbia River highway to Troutdale, then follow the river through Portland before continuing west over the coast mountains to our destination of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Day 11, Wednesday. (Astoria to Morton, 215 miles)

We'll cross the mouth of the Columbia River into Washington and turn east along the river. We'll leave the river near Longview and find out way to Mount St. Helens. The devastation following volcanic eruption (explosion) over 25 years ago is still very evident and the ride out to Johnson Ridge is spectacular.

Day 12, Thursday. (Morton to Seattle, 180 miles)

All good things must come to an end (or so it seems) but not before one last day of great Northwest riding. We'll take the long way back to Seattle with a ride through Mt. Rainier National Park before returning to our starting point. What a great way to end 12 days of fabulous riding!

California Motorcycle Tours has several great tour guides on staff who love riding and sharing experiences with other riders. We know where to find the best roads and destinations in the mountains and deserts of California and the American Southewst, and we are eager to make your holiday/vacation a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. We are young at heart and adventurous individuals who love to ride and take people riding.

Fred started California Motorcycle Tours in 1999 as a way of sharing his enjoyment of the open road with riders from around the world. Fred designed most of the tours based on his years of exploring the back-roads of the American southwest. he hates freeways, and looks for twisty secondary and tertiary roads. Fred love to lead rides himself whenever possible.

We've worked hard to create tours that we would want to take ourselves. We are constantly looking to design new routes and improve existing ones.We have made our tours fun for a variety of people from different parts of the world and count many of our clients as new friends with whom we maintain contact long after the tour has ended. Almost 50% of our guests come back for another trip and we're very proud of that.

We admit that riding with like-minded guests is fun, but at the same time we take our responsibilities seriously. Your safety is our #1 priority - #2 is to do everything we can to ensure that your vacation/holiday is thoroughly planned so all you have to do is ride and have fun. No stress, no worries!

Fred and the staff have set up eight adventure tours, with many beginning and ending in beautiful San Diego. You will enjoy maginicent scenery as you ride through some of the most historically interesting areas in California, the American Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Mexico's Baja California.

California Motorcycle Tours has a goal - to take riders and passengers on a tour that is the adventure of a lifetime.