Scenic America

[yaadi93]

Dear Cyclists,

I am a 20 year old uni student from Australia and I am planning of spending next year traveling around the states. I am fascinated by the natural sciences and wanted your advise as to the most scenic, beautiful and diverse route to travel? =

Cheers

Sam

[JayH]

I would certainly hit up yellowstone and the grand tetons in Wyoming..  The Transamerica route and the Great Divide go through it for sure...  (probably other routes (Great Parks north??) as well)
 
Jay

[John Nelson]

The U.S. is a large, diverse country with countless scenic options, and different people have different views of what is most scenic. It sounds as if you're planning to spend a whole year here, which will give you the opportunity to see a lot of different things. You'll probably want to spend the summer in the northern half of the country and the winter in the southern half. Many of our most scenic areas are in our National Parks, so I would definitely seek those out. The downside of National Parks, however, is that they are quite popular and you won't be lonely there.

I agree with Jay that if you want to see natural beauty, you may want to spend much of your time in the West. The downside of the West, however, is that everything is so very far apart (but you're used to that in Oz).

[BikeFreak]

I have a very easy answer for your question:

I circled Australia on a trike (14000 kms). I biked in Europe, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, 4 times across USA/Canada - I even did the Continental Divide Trail. I also passed by Yellowstone ...

But nothing - absolutely nothing comes close to the scenic beauty of southern Utah. And the Western Express Route brings you right through.

Lucas

[Rick.in.AZ]

The US is a large highly varied country. If you have a year, there is a lot you can cover.  I have always lived in the west, but have traveled though much of the western half or 2/3.

Lucas' suggestion of southern Utah is good. Look up the national parks in Utah.  But, My vote for scenic Beauty goes to Yosemite Not instead of, but in addition to Utah.  I'd also make sure to hit the pacific coast route - especially from about Santa Barbara CA to Astoria OR.

And Yes, the Trans AM, which I plan to do next summer, to get a great cross section of the US.

I think the Great Lakes area - say the North Lakes route would be a good addition.

If you happen to do the Southern Tier too, I'm in Mesa (next to Tempe) and on the Warm Showers list.

Rick

[mmounties]

I agree with the suggested stops in Utah and the Pacific Coast.  Great country.  But make sure you don't come through the desert (on the Western Express) in the heat of summer (it's hot with little or no available shade and distances can be great) and ride the Pacific Coast from North to South because of winds.

I'd also add the hills in Southwestern Missouri and Oklahoma to my favorite places.  It's a totally different view of the country and AC's Route 66 project will cover this area.  Until it's completed you can use detailed local maps and perhaps intelligence gathered by local WarmShower hosts.

Oh, how I wish I could take a year!  Best of luck to you!

[pickupel]

Although I'm from the UK, I've done a lot of riding in the US — rode the Trans Am in 2010 and a good deal of the Northern Tier earlier this year. I've also lived in Washington D.C. and North Carolina. One of the best things about the USA is its variety — not many countries have the same geographical diversity. Even some of the places that would not be on most tourist's checklists, e.g. Kansas, are unique and can be incredible places to ride. I definitely would recommend a cross country tour, but whatever you do I think you'll be left with the impression that there's a lot left to see.

If you're looking for inspiration, ride reports from all the bike tours I've done in the US are on my website, and I'm currently doing a 'top 10' list of the defining experiences of my Trans Am ride: bit.ly/19ERPLh