A Year In Review: Our Favorite Destinations of 2023
At RoadRUNNER, it's about more than just the motorcycle. It's about where you go on the motorcycle. Simply put, we are addicted to exploring new places and experiencing new things. We often share short articles highlighting specific places across the country that might be of interest to riders passing through.
The following destinations, in no particular order, are some of our favorites published in 2023. We hope you enjoy.
Explore Nevada's Area 51
Where does our fascination with aliens cross the line from humor and whimsy to serious belief? And why?
Perhaps this obsession with visitors from beyond Earth stems from simple romanticism. We want to believe we are not alone.
Whatever the driver, every year tourists from all over the globe venture to several famous destinations within the continental U.S. with ties to strange, mythical, unexplained events.
Key West & The Southern Terminus
There’s nothing quite like taking a road to the end of the world. When that path takes you through a history of landscapes ripe with the romanticism of escape into the exotic, it’s all the better.
We’re talking about the Florida Keys. With rich, sultry names dotting the route—such as Key Largo, Islamorada, Theater of the Sea, and Key West—this string of islands speaks to sun-loving adventurers.
The Charming Village of Mendocino, CA
Perched on rugged cliffs above the Pacific Ocean’s crashing waves is the charming village of Mendocino, CA. It’s located some 170 miles north of San Francisco on California’s famously scenic Pacific Coast Highway. The village is part of Mendocino County, which lies between California’s Coastal Range and the Pacific Ocean.
Pit Stop in Ridgeland, Mississippi
When the open road beckons and the urge to explore stirs, there’s no better route to explore than the Natchez Trace Parkway … and there’s no better rest stop along the Trace than Ridgeland, Mississippi.
Home to more than 150 restaurants, exceptional shopping, historic Parkway stops, the 33,000-acre Barnett Reservoir and its abundance of outdoor activities, Ridgeland offers unforgettable experiences for the young and young at heart.
UFO Capital of the World—Roswell, New Mexico
Hear the name Roswell and images of secreted-away debris of a 1947 flying saucer crash and a clandestine cover-up cordoned off from the public with chain-link fencing and armed patrols start popping up in your head. There are even dubious, grainy black-and-white photos of surgeons performing autopsies on slit-eyed aliens.
All scientists and aluminum foil-wrapped weirdos are welcome in Roswell, earning it a status as the UFO capital of the world.
Wildwood, Missouri's Most Haunted Trail—Zombie Road
If you're a fan of the supernatural traveling anywhere near St. Louis, MO, you may want to detour to Wildwood to visit the infamous Zombie Road (aka. Al Foster Trail). This aptly named and presumably haunted destination is appropriately set in the thick of eerie forests.
In Pursuit of Wildness: Great Basin National Park
Rarely do I ride 1,800 miles just because a stranger suggests an awesome ride, but I had just met a fellow rider, Scott, in Springerville, AZ, and he was already persuading me to take a ride near his home in Utah. He called it the Nebo Loop, but it’s also known as the Mount Nebo Scenic Byway. It’s near Spanish Fork, UT. I had never heard of it.
Second Oldest City in South Carolina—Beaufort
Think of South Carolina cities or towns that exude the state’s classic charm and culture and most likely Charleston or Savannah come to mind. However, for an alternative that captures the area’s rich history in a smaller, more manageable package (read: less tourists) you may want to consider Beaufort.
Bodie Gold Mine and Ghost Town
Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie hills east of the Sierra Nevada. It became a boom town in 1876 when gold was discovered there and by 1879 it had a population of around 6,000 people and 2,000 houses. One legend suggests that in 1880 it was California’s second or third largest city. It had banks, a fire brigade, a brass band, railroad, workers unions, newspapers and a jail. It also had a red light district and a small Chinatown.