Motorcycle Road Trip
on Traverse Ridge Road, Draper, Utah

I was very surprised to find such an impressive motorcycle road trip so close to home.

This is a very three-dimensional ride climbing from the Salt Lake County valley floor to the top of nearby mountains in just a few miles, then deposits the rider on the opposite side of the mountains on the Utah County valley floor.

This is a relatively short ride but the views are worth it. The road is a four-lane blacktop for much of its length, two lanes in some segments, banked, with large sweeping turns and views that are as good or better than any I've ever seen of the Salt Lake County and Utah County valleys. Because of housing developments on the mountain and road name changes in several spots, the route might be a little hard to follow. We got off the main road once but found it again by following a sign that pointed in the direction of the "Alpine Highway". That part of the road is named "Suncrest Drive".

The ride starts at the intersection of Highland Drive (W 14600 S) and Traverse Ridge Road (Bangerter Highway) in Salt Lake County and ends at W. 11000 N. in Utah County (see the Mapquest link Traverse Ridge Road)

There is a point at an intersection where you must turn from going south to east onto “Suncrest Drive”. We missed that turn and instead continued South into a housing development. That error provided one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen. As we crested the mountain, we looked down upon the Utah County valley and Utah Lake. From our vantage point, it would have been easy to mistake it for the Pacific Ocean.

We took our touring bike on this motorcycle road trip on a Saturday and the sport bikes on Sunday. The road quality varies. The first half of the ride, going up, before “Suncrest Drive”, is very high quality pavement.

The second half has many manhole covers, some broken pavement, and a few rocks. The road is a reasonably good road for cruisers but you will need to pay attention to the road surface on the second half of the ride.

For sport bike riders looking for high quality pavement, I can only recommend the first half of the ride before reaching “Suncrest Drive”; after that, you have to slow down and be careful. Much of the road is stained with what looks like sand. I stopped to see what it was. It wasn't sand but a reddish-brown stain that only looked like sand; not a road hazard.

NOTE especially for sport bike riders: There is a City of Draper Police Substation near the beginning of this ride on the south side of the road. It is a small, white building. As I recall, this is the area that was in the news some time ago when an officer stopped and arrested a motorcyclist for doing 125 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was taken directly to the Draper City jail.

If you don't have a lot of time but want to take a spectacular motorcycle road trip close to home (providing you live in Salt Lake or somewhere in Utah County), this ride is highly recommended. You may want to take a camera with you. The views are that spectacular.