5 Of The Best Coast-To-Coast Routes For Motorcycles, According To Riders

One of the great joys of owning a motorcycle is going on road trips. You get to experience nature in a way that people in a car simply don't, and while it is exhausting for beginners, it's definitely something worth building up to. Arguably the most intense and rewarding road trip a rider can take is the coast-to-coast cross-country trip. It's a grueling ride that covers thousands of miles, but it's also a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

When planning to take this trip, the biggest decision to make is routing. Sure, there's an app for that, but planning a route on paper is difficult because you don't know what you're missing if you've never taken trips across the country like that before. Many riders have taken to places like Reddit to compare their trips, and see which routes others prefer.

Which routes do riders prefer? Well, we'll get to our selection process later in the article, but there were a few big routes that stood out above the rest. These routes give you a good mixture of highway and scenic riding, and some even have historical value. Obviously, there are a thousand ways to get from one coast to the other, and most of them will work just fine. In any case, here are some ideas to get your road trip plan started. 

Far and away the route we saw recommended the most is the Trans-American Trail. Its major claim to fame is that it heavily utilizes all sorts of public roads, from backroads to highways, to maximize the scenic value of the road trip. If you're interested in a route with a lot to see and do, this could be one to consider. If you're just trying to get from coast to coast as quickly as possible, this is not the route for you.

Maps for the route can be found here and include a few different options. Officially, it starts in West Virginia, sweeps through the middle of the U.S., loops up and around Utah and Idaho, and then takes you back to Wisconsin. However, if you want a coast-to-coast version, the Trans-American Trail also has an arm that starts in North Carolina, and pops out at Newport, Oregon. There are also several loops you can do, but those are for folks looking for shorter treks. 

This route includes both paved and unpaved roads, so you'll want to make sure your motorcycle can handle a little off-roading and that you've dropped all your bad riding habits before you leave. You'll also have to deal with desert heat, potential snow, and long treks off of the beaten path. The creators of the route encourage riders to make sure their fuel tank is full before tackling those sections of the trail. 

Route 66 is a popular road trip path for its historic value. The highway will celebrate its 100th birthday in November 2026, making it one of the oldest in the United States. It spans from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, and it's rife with tourist attractions and popular landmarks. Design on it began in the 1920s as a solution for farmers to get to major cities to sell their product. These days, it's a popular road trip destination and one we found recommended several times by riders. 

The route officially starts in Chicago, sweeps down through the American Southwest before winding up at the coast in Santa Monica. This map by Google Maps user WastelandFirebird is a good illustration of the route. It's a simple, mostly highway route, but there are some points where you'll have to switch roads. It also goes near the Grand Canyon and some other landmarks in case you want to stop off and see more history. To make it a coast-to-coast endeavor, you'll need to map your own route from Chicago to the coast, but there are hundreds of ways to do that and still have fun. 

With that said, you will want to make sure to keep your motorcycle toolkit stocked, just in case. Some parts of the highway are a little rough these days, and while it shouldn't present a problem, it's one of those things where it's better to be safe than sorry. Also, be ready for the desert heat since the highway swings right through one. 

Historic Route 20 is another excellent choice for a coast-to-coast road trip on a motorcycle. It's one of the oldest highways in the U.S. and has the distinct honor of being the longest single route in the country. It's also consistently recommended and done on motorcycle subreddits, with many recommending swinging off of the beaten path to do the occasional trail. As far as straight shots are concerned, there are few as clean as this one, and it's also one of the few recommended paths that avoids deserts. 

The trip starts in Boston, Massachusetts, sweeps north through the scenic parts of New York state before coasting along Lake Erie to Chicago. From there, it's a straight shot westward before ending up at Newport, Oregon. In fact, the final leg of this journey is the same as the famous Trans-American Trail that motorcyclists like to follow. Here is a Google Maps link if you want to plan the trip along this route. According to Google Maps, the trip is 47 hours assuming you have any turn offs, but if you find something interesting along the way, you definitely should.

This is also a nice route for beginners, since most of it is freeway. You don't need the best modern motorcycles to complete it safely. Even a solid budget motorcycle should be able to make the journey without much issue. However, we do recommend the route during the summer or at least early autumn to avoid snow hazards while riding. 

Most road trips of this kind will take you through the American Midwest and Southwest, and that's mostly for weather reasons. Northern routes have the distinct disadvantage of snow and colder temps in the winter. Plus, there aren't as many big-name U.S. routes through those areas, so the historic value is a little lower. Even so, some riders have found nice road trips going through the northern states, and the Great Northern Route is arguably the best one. 

The route starts in Seattle, Washington and hits Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin before dipping down south of the Great Lakes. From there, it heads straight for the East Coast before wrapping upward to Maine. Here is a Google Maps link if you'd like one. The trip is 49 hours assuming no stop offs, but there are plenty of choose from, including Acadia National Park and Glacier National Park. Plus, the Great Lakes are pretty cool if you've never seen them before. 

There is an alternate route as well, but it does require a passport. Instead of sweeping south through the Great Lakes states, it instead continues east through Michigan's Upper Peninsula, crosses into Canada, and continues eastward until Maine. This variant is the official Great Northern Route, so if you want the full experience, you'll want to pick up a passport and go during the summer months to avoid harsh cold and the snow. 

This one wasn't recommended nearly as often, but guided tours can be great for folks who don't want to spend the time to build a road trip plan, or those who are coming from outside of the U.S. and still want a full coast-to-coast experience. Many guided tours even have bike rentals, so you may not need to bring your own, though others recommend you ship your bike so that you're on something comfortable for the entire trip. 

There are many guided tours out there, but one that fulfills the qualifications for this list is Unchained Tours. The service has several bike tours that you can sign up for, including a coast-to-coast version that starts in Norfolk, Virginia, takes you through the Great Smoky Mountains down to Texas, and then westward toward the Grand Canyon. It then swings through Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park, and the Pacific Coast Highway before depositing you in San Francisco. The service does have bikes that you can rent but does recommend shipping yours instead if you can. 

The charming part of guided tours is that you get the experience of driving all the way across the U.S. with someone who's taken the trip before and knows where to go and what to do. Plus, these tours are designed for sightseeing, so big destination spots like the Grand Canyon are baked into the experience without extraneous planning. 

For this list, we wanted to give the reader enough variety to be inspire all kinds of routes. When we surfed around places like Reddit for recommendations, we'd mostly find one or two for homemade routes and then a small gaggle of recommendations for more popular ones. This isn't the most popular activity for riders, so it's not like there are thousands of suggestions to sift through. In general, things like the Trans-American Trail and U.S. Route 66 were recommended fairly often, and most of the rest were recommended a few times. 

We also considered routes aimed at different experience levels. For example, the Trans-American Trail is pretty tough, and we recommend that one for experienced riders as you'll be driving through dirt, mud, and all over the place. U.S. Route 20 and the Great Northern Route, by contrast, are more intermediate, while the guided tours are the easiest for beginners. In addition, each of these requires a slightly different amount of planning. The U.S. Route 20 path is planned from start to finish, while some homework is necessary if you do U.S. Route 66, since you have to find a way from the East Coast to Chicago. 

In all, the routes above should give you a good place to start for planning your own trip. There is a lot that goes into it, including where you're going to sleep, gas money, toll roads, and even a tool kit for minor repairs. Good luck!