Northern California is filled with 1000s of miles of great curvy roads but few outsiders know about Highway 36, “The Serpent to the Sea”. Your GPS prepped bike awaits preloaded with all the waypoints you need. Your hotels are booked for you in appropriate small towns with dinner options a walk away. All you have to do is show up and ride. The GPS routes list will take you the back way into the Napa Valley, across the stretches of open country and almond orchards. Spend a whole day riding the 1811 curves of highway 36 to the redwood coast. Ride the “Ave of the Giants”, and the twistiest stretch of highway 1. Your included “Road Book” tells you about some of the great places to eat along the way. Finish your tour off with a great ride down the coast featuring a few back road options and a victory photo above the Golden Gate Bridge. Averaging 230 carefree miles a day with plenty of worthy stops to savor the country, just follow the GPS and leave your mild mannered alter ego behind.
GPS Self Guided Redwood Serpent Run at a Glance
Tour Days
> Day
1 -
Arrival San Francisco
> Day
2 -
San Francisco to Chico (229 miles/369km)
> Day
3 -
Chico to Fortuna - (206 miles/332km)
> Day
4 -
Fortuna to Gualala - (235 miles/378km)
> Day
5 -
Gualala to Windsor to San Francisco - (190 miles/305)
Upcoming Tour Dates
Date To Be Determined
Scenery:
Wild North Coast, Wine Country, Giant Redwood Forests
Road Difficulty:
Some bumpy pavement, and challenging curves
Road Excitement:
Endless Curves of all kinds
Food:
California Organic, BBQ, Mexican, diverse options
Hotels:
3 Star and Some Unique Boutique
Riding Days:
4
Riding Hours Per Day:
7
Airport:
San Francisco SFO
Quick Itinerary:
San Francisco-Chico-Redwood Coast-North Coast-San Francisco
If you have not been on a tour with Leod Escapes, you need to treat yourself soon!
Tour Cancellation Policy
Cancellations are rare but hotel and bike vendors are often not as forgiving as we’d like. If you must cancel Leod Escapes urges you to transfer your tour slot to a good friend whenever possible. It’s not in our benefit to operate at a loss but it is in our best interests that you feel you are treated fairly.
A deposit of around 30% reserves your bike(s) and rooms. Full payment is due 60 days before the tour.
If you cancel 60 days or more prior to the tour, your deposit will be held as credit towards another tour for the same or following year.
If you cancel between 59 and 31 days prior to the starting date of the tour you will loose the deposit. The balance will be held in credit towards another tour in the same or following year.
If you cancel 30 days prior to the starting date of the tour you loose 75% of the total amount. The remaining balance is held as credit towards another tour the same or following year.
GPS Self Guided Redwood Serpent Run - tour:
T308 A GPS self-guided 4 Day tour on the great motorcycling roads between, San Francisco, the Giant Redwoods, the Wine Country and the best curvy stretches of Pacific Coast Highway One.
San Francisco hotels are very expensive and space is always limited so book early. Our hotel outside the city gives you a much better value and is close to the local subway so you can enjoy the city if you want to. When you arrive at the airport take the hotel shuttle to your hotel and check in. Then ask the shuttle to take you to the motorcycle rental pick up place and get your bike. If you arrive early you can take the subway to the city. Just be back by 4pm and have the hotel shuttle give you a ride to pickup your motorcycle. You can take a warm up ride to the local motorcycle hangout, Alice’s restaurant. That night pack up the motorcycle luggage and leave your suitcases in storage at the hotel. Take a look at your supplied road book and familiarize yourself with the GPS. Look over tomorrows route on the large detailed map supplied. Get a good night sleep, you have a wonderful adventure tomorrow.
Day
2 San Francisco to Chico (229 miles/369km)
Grab your waypoints list, detailed map, road book and read up at breakfast. Select route 7 on the GPS and head out. This morning you’ll ride across the largest and most important bridge in San Francisco, the Bay Bridge. Heading your north on the main highway you’ll be guided off onto a lonely wine country back road. You will and sneak into the Napa valley from the east on a road no tourist would ever find. Ride along the legendary vines and then head north up twisty curves into the open country of Lake County. Ride out across the hills to the central valley of California. You GPS will guide you away from the main highway and onto at local road through the orchards on your way to the college party town of Chico. Not to worry there are plenty of plenty of upscale restaurants here but you might want to join the local students for decent bar food at The Bear. Your road book will tell you where some great dining spots are.
Day
3 Chico to Fortuna - (206 miles/332km)
Look at the map over breakfast, review your GPS waypoints and select the GPS route listed in your road book. Today you ride California's best single motorcycling road, highway 36. A short run up the main highway takes you to the town of Red Bluff. You top off your fuel here and follow your GPS to the simple sign that warns you, curves for the next 140 miles. Yes of course you'll stop for pictures. After a great section of turns high in the mountains you'll ride up highway 3 to grab some food at the locals spot in the village of Hayfork. Highway 36 continues west, over mountains and down into the river valleys. Coming down the final set of mountains you'll sense the rich misty smell and fresh oxygen generated by ancient redwood trees. Ride through the redwoods and out towards the coast to the small road stop town of Fortuna. It’s time to celebrate at the local brewery.
Day
4 Fortuna to Gualala - (235 miles/378km)
Mount up and ride to a fresh local breakfast. Review your map and road book over coffee. Then ride south on the highway until the GPS guides you to Ave of the Giants. This detour is popular with visitors and should not be missed. The giant trees induce an air of peaceful comfort. It may be the definition of a tourist trap but who cares, it's still fun, follow the waypoint to pay a few dollars and ride your motorcycle through the middle of a giant redwood tree and pick up some goofy souvenirs. Next comes the twistiest part of the road everyone wants to ride, Pacific Coast Highway 1. The winding road takes you through the forest and out onto the coast high above the Pacific Ocean. You'll ride down the the wild coast to the town of Mendocina for lunch. After lunch you’ll be rewarded with the route to the local redwood grove. It’s an amazing road no tourist bus can get to and a short hike that puts you in a grove of giant 3000 year old redwoods. This is the special spot that’s off the tourist trail. Then head further south and take a road through the mountains back to the sea and arrive at our favorite hotel on the tour. Even though you'll have dining options, almost everyone ends up and Bones Roadhouse BBQ.
Day
5 Gualala to Windsor to San Francisco - (190 miles/305)
Walk to a great breakfast review your route for the day, tank up the bike and head south. You GPS routes you off the coast and on to a back road only the local riders know. Back into hidden country you go until 20 miles later something strange happens. The road turns goes from country mountain road into something that looks like a race track. This high banked back road leads you into the Sonoma wine country and then the route turns west again through the redwoods and back out to the Pacific. Your GPS will guide you to the best beach on the wild north coast to take in the view and watch the seals bob up and down in the waves. Continue south and get gas in iconic but heavily touristed Bodega Bay. Further south we route you to a great open air dinning spot that pulls local oysters right out of the bay and prepares them right there. A nice array of other lunch options are available as this is the home of Northern California’s organic meat country. A hidden back way across the ranch country brings you to the final stretch of super curvy roads high above the sea. Follow the GPS as it takes you to the best Golden Gate Bridge viewing spot in the afternoon for that great end of tour photo. Ride across the bridge itself and skirt the edge of the city before returning safely back to South San Francisco. That night take the subway into the city and celebrate with a fine dinner, there are so many fine places to choose from.
Cancellations are rare but hotel and bike vendors are often not as forgiving as we’d like. If you must cancel Leod Escapes urges you to transfer your tour slot to a good friend whenever possible. It’s not in our benefit to operate at a loss but it is in our best interests that you feel you are treated fairly.
A deposit of around 30% reserves your bike(s) and rooms. Full payment is due 60 days before the tour.
If you cancel 60 days or more prior to the tour, your deposit will be held as credit towards another tour for the same or following year.
If you cancel between 59 and 31 days prior to the starting date of the tour you will loose the deposit. The balance will be held in credit towards another tour in the same or following year.
If you cancel 30 days prior to the starting date of the tour you loose 75% of the total amount. The remaining balance is held as credit towards another tour the same or following year.
Related Pages to
GPS Self Guided Redwood Serpent Run