Two words: Rattlesnake Grade!
The editors of American Motorcyclist magazine used their 230,000-members to nominate and vote on members’ favorite roads. Nearly 100 roads made the ballet box, and the magazine published the top 15 roads in the April issue.
Oregon made the top 15 with an amazing piece of pavement called the Rattlesnake Grade. Typically any rider who’s done this twisty piece of paved paradise will just smile and their face will light up when ask about it.
Here are the top 15 routes and I’ve bolded the northwest routes:
15. Washington Route 129 and Oregon Route 3, Clarkston, Wash., to Enterprise, Ore. (Map HERE)
14. Ohio Route 170, Calcutta to Poland.
13. California Route 58, McKittrick to Santa Margarita.
12. U.S. Route 33, Harrisonburg, Va., to Seneca Rocks, W.Va.
11. Natchez Trace, from Natchez, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn.
10. Angeles Crest Highway, California Route 2.
9. U.S. Route 12, Lolo Pass, Idaho and Montana. (Map HERE)
8. California Route 36.
7. Cherohala Skyway, North Carolina and Tennessee.
6. Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana. (Map HERE)
5. California Route 1, Pacific Coast Highway.
4. U.S. Route 550, from Ouray to Durango, Colo.
3. U.S. Route 129 — The Tail of the Dragon — on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
2. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina.
1. Beartooth Highway, Montana and Wyoming. (Map HERE)
There are more detailed descriptions in the magazine which can be viewed online HERE.
Beside truck drivers, no other group puts in more miles and samples more road than motorcyclists and these are some great rides to consider.
Photo courtesy of AMA.
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