California to the Grand Canyon

[cowboy1]

We are looking to take a trip in June from Monterey to the Grand Canyon. Can anyone help with planning the route? We are going to be with a few folks who won't want to ride more than 400 miles per day and will need to figure a route with at least one stop.

Has anyone done this ride? I would like to possibly plan a route which is fairly direct but also a nice ride with a decent climate. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

[JeffeVerde]

Getting across Arizona's going to be the tough part.

You could cut over the Sierras north of Yosemite, via Sonora or Ebbett's pass, spend the night in Mammoth or Bishop, then on to Laughlin on day 2, and the Grand Canyon on day 3. That's 375, 375, and 200 miles, and minimizes your mid-day desert driving.

Or ride down the coast and stop around Bakersfield (Tehachapi is a little less desert-like), and then on to the Grand Canyon the next day. Depending on your route down the coast, that's 250-300 day 1 and 400-450 day two.

In either case, if you start at dawn on day 2, the desert is much prettier in the early morning light and you won't cook your brains riding across Arizona in the mid-day heat.