Great Continental Divide Motorcycle Route
Motorcycle Route for Adventure Bikes and Dual Sport Bikes
The Continental Divide is a drainage divide running along the rocky mountains. To the west of the divide, all the water flows into the Pacific Ocean and on the eastern side, all the water flows to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Continental Divide Adventure Route is a motorized route that follows closely along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. This scenic trail runs from the USA/Mexico border into Canada and covers 2,767 miles of spectacular remote wilderness. The Route covers 5 states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and is a mostly a mix of smaller dirt roads and back county roads. This is considered a scenic adventure route and most riders take two weeks to travel the length. Many riders camp along the route while others choose from many hotel options.
We sponsored two riders from Upshift Magazine on this ride.
Check out the wonderful article and photographs
Self Guided American Adventure: The Great Continental Divide Route (GCDR) is designed to be a self-guided adventure. As GPS units have become both more powerful and easier to use, it has enabled anyone to be able to easily find their way along the trail. For many, this allows them to just experience the American trail without the burden of getting lost.
Buy the GPS Card and Rider Maps:
You can order a microSD Card for your Garmin GPS and a complete set of tank bag reference maps and Big Picture overview maps designed in combination with the microSD card to fit the pocket in your "Tank Bag" (as in the photo at the top of the page). See the choices below:
CDR Choice (Scroll Down Menu)
Free Shipping to Lower 48 States
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Notes: I suggest you plan and order early. Normally I ship within a week. But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps. And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup gps in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Overview of the route
The GCDR route on the map below is the main route in Blue, the easier options are shown in Green and the harder options are shown in Red. Zoom in for incredible detail. And enjoy dreaming of the ride!
If you have been dreaming about riding adventures like this, now is the time. This year the route has been updated with both easy and hard route options. Riders need not be bored or ride over their head, as built into the route are choices to fit each rider.
Yes, the perfect ride for that new bike.
Navigation of the Trail: For sure the best way to follow the trail is by the use of a Garmin GPS unit. There are many types of Garmin units, almost all of them can work well. If you don't already have a Garmin GPS you can often get a new Garmin for under $100. Cell Phone GPS is starting to be used, but has trouble in the remote areas and doesn't take the abuse of the trail well. See our Garmin GPS recommendations.
Structure of the trail information: The GCRD is broken into 20 sections (from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells on the Mexico border. At the end of each section is a gasoline station. The sections vary in length from 77 miles to 267 miles. You should have a gas range of 267 miles. Each section has a printable map. Several sections can be ridden in a day, depending on your desires.
Studying the Route: Attitudes about studying the route vary greatly among travelers. Some prefer no study, just turn on the GPS and go and enjoy whatever the day has to offer. Others love to study the route in fine detail before starting. Below you will find some amazing resources that allow you to study the route in very fine detail. So for those that enjoy this sort of thing, well, Enjoy.
Link to Study the detail of Each Section's Route
Route Updates: I have spent a lot of work sorting through all the best ride plans from all the best riders and sources. This includes: Cannonshots tracks and stories and info (he is the best) and I have sorted through Big Dogs tracks and info and I have gone through my own once again (gpsKevin) and the info on what Rawhide does. I have taken the best from everyone and made it in really easy GPS maps and I now put it "Open Source" on the web for free so that everyone may enjoy and contribute to making it an even better ride. Please send me your updates and I will include them.
Instant GPS Download:
Want to download the Complete set of Tracklogs and Waypoints. Maybe you want to edit them and download them to your GPS yourself? Below you can get an instant download in either Universal (GPX) format or Garmin Basecamp and Mapsource (GDB) format. These are high resolution tracklogs and Waypoints for all section of the trail and its options.
(This option is not recommended if you have not worked with tracklogs before, tracklogs do not work in all GPS units and often must be modified to fit your GPS. We cannot offer any tech support for your GPS unit. We recommend you buy the Micro SD card)
Note: After you complete your payment, Select "Return to Merchant" Button to be directed to the download link.