Golden States Run

When all tour participants have arrived, we meet for a welcome greeting and refreshment, with introductions. The evening’s program is getting to know each other and we eat dinner together in true American style. Those who are not tired after the long journey may go to a local bar nearby.

(Driving day 1: 212 km/132 miles)

When everyone is ready on the bikes we embark on our Golden States Run tour. LA disappears behind us as we head south for a unique adventure full of history, excitement, and fun! This first driving day will bring some city, some highway, and a wonderful drive along the legendary Pacific Coast Highway 1 towards fun San Diego. We start slowly to tune everyone into the California driving conditions and temperatures. In approx. 30 min our first stop is Long Beach, where we make an extra security check of the bikes, equipment, and drivers before our tour begins for real.

Get ready for a tasty lunch at Ruby’s Diner in Laguna Beach. Milkshakes the old-fashioned way = highly recommended! Thereafter, we head straight to San Diego, where we drive to Historic Old Town, check in to the hotel, and spend the rest of the day on everything this fun city has to offer: the USS Midway, Maritime Museum, Little Italy, Old Town.

(Driving day 2: 231 km/145 miles)

Today we ride into the desert to stay in legendary Palm Springs, home of the rich & famous. After we exit San Diego through Ramona, we stop at Santa Ysabel, home of the famous homemade pies. Be ready for a real delicious treat and try not to eat too much. You will probably want to buy more to bring with you for the rest of the tour.

We continue our tour on fun Pines to Palms Hwy, which has some spectacular views, so keep your cameras ready. Our end stop is Palm Springs, where we spend an exciting evening together.

(Driving day 3: 390 km/242  miles)

Today will be mostly desert riding. We start off the day by driving through beautiful Joshua Tree National Park, home to spectacular rock and desert formations. We continue to Lake Havasu, where we will enjoy a nice ride along the lake shores before we end up in Lake Havasu City. This evening you can visit the London Bridge.

(Driving day 4: 164 km/102 miles)

We head north towards Kingman and Historic Route 66, also called “The Mother Road”. We do as thousands of pilgrims before us, drive Route 66 to the west. You will experience a spectacular drive to Oatman, an old miner/western village, which was established by two gold diggers in 1915. The driving distance to the Oatman consists of narrow curvy roads at different height levels, with mountain and desert landscapes. Ideal for filming, perhaps the best opportunity on the tour. In Oatman, remember to lock your bikes, and watch out for donkeys & outlaws in the streets.  We continue on Route 66 before we drive straight to Laughlin. Welcome to casinos and playgrounds!

(Driving day 5: 416  km/259 miles)

It will be a day of desert driving, and it will get hot. We drive through “Mojave National Preserve”, known for its singing sand dunes, cinder cone volcanoes, a large Joshua tree forest, and carpets of spring wildflowers. We continue towards Calico Ghost Town, eat lunch in Barstow, before driving to the beautiful vacation resort Big Bear Lake, where we will spend our last magical evening together on the road.

(Driving day 6: 256 km/159 miles)

We end our tour with a big bang. Today you will experience the magical roads and spectacular views on one of the US Best motorcycle roads; Angeles Crest Highway (CA-2). It will be a breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime riding experience for the history books! Make sure to have your cameras ready and fully charged!

We make several stops and take our time on Angels Crest Highway before we head towards Los Angeles. We return our bikes and check-in to the hotel before we drive to Santa Monica Pier, the end of Historic Route 66, and our Farewell party.

We say goodbye to the Golden States Run, Los Angeles, and return home. Thanks for a great ride, good times, and sincerely thank you for choosing to tour with Explorify. We wish you a safe trip home and hope to see you again on one of our other tours in the US, South America, Asia, Oceania, or Europe.

Note: Because of the time difference travelers from Europe will arrive home the date/day after departing the US.

Also: This program is a guideline for activities and experiences on the tour. Deviations may occur, but we guarantee that our positive tour leaders will do their utmost to execute the program as described – as far as it is feasible and circumstances allow. We are continually working to improve the program, thus you may experience positive surprises.