Highway 89 - Monitor Pass
Highway 89-Monitor Pass gets a lot of attention in Pashnit Land, and there’s a good reason for that. Traversing both Alpine and Mono counties, Monitor Pass climbs smoothly to a stunning summit of 8,314 feet.
The pavement is curvaceous, clean, and exceptionally smooth. Instead of tight hairpins, the highway features sweeping, rhythmic S-curves that climb steadily through Lexington Canyon. Along the climb, riders pass historical remnants like Loope, a late-19th-century mining town that has since vanished into the landscape. Yet, most riders completely blink past Heenan Lake—a catch-and-release, 130-acre reservoir originally built in 1925 by homesteaders.
Because the western slope is lightly forested, you can enjoy broad sightlines and wide-open views of towering, 10,000-foot snowcapped peaks. As you approach the summit, groves of white quaking aspen trees begin to line the asphalt. These turn a brilliant yellow in fall before the snow flies. The road eventually peaks over a ridge into a unique high-elevation bowl and a short, straight stretch. In the distance atop Leviathan Peak sits an abandoned fire lookout you can actually ride up to.
At the true summit, a small granite marker provides the perfect photo opportunity for tracking your mountain pass conquests. The east side serves up a fast, sweeping downhill that offers broad views of Nevada and a picturesque overlook of Slinkard Valley—easily one of the best photo ops in the Sierra Nevada. Directly below you are the massive, sweeping S-curves Monitor Pass is famous for.
With convenient fuel and lodging options located nearby in Markleeville, Topaz Lake, and Walker, Monitor Pass remains a quintessential, highly recommended destination for any Sierra Nevada ride. Plus, when combined with Highway 4-Ebbetts Pass & Highway 108-Sonora Pass- you have one of the best mountain motorcycle road combos in the state, if not the Western United States.
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